Positive notes and some alarm bells from the register of companies in the second quarter of 2014. Between April and June the registers of the Chambers of Commerce received almost 97 thousand applications for registration, the lowest figure among those recorded in the second quarter of the last 10 years, compared to just over 61 cancellation requests from existing companies (only in 2010 the closures were lower). The balance of the second quarter of 2014 is therefore positive for 35.704 units, 9.619 more (37%) compared to the second quarter of 2013. This is what emerges from the survey on the birth-mortality of Italian companies in the second quarter of the year photographed through Movimprese, the quarterly survey conducted on the business registers of the Italian Chambers of Commerce by Unioncamere-InfoCamere.
In percentage terms, between April and June the stock of companies registered in the registers of the Chambers of Commerce grew overall by 0,59% (against 0,43% in the second quarter of 2013), settling, as at 30 June, at a value of 6.039.837 units, of which 1.390.774 artisans. The greatest balance, in absolute terms, is recorded in the South (12.106 more companies), the one in relative terms in the Center (+0,70%). In all regions, however, the quarter closed with a positive sign: from Lombardy (5.861 more businesses to appeal), to Valle d'Aosta (87).
Even at the sectoral level, all the main activities recorded an expansion of the entrepreneurial base: 10.813 more in trade, 6.055 in catering and accommodation, 3.523 in business services. Construction (+2.875 units) and manufacturing activities (+1.155) are also recovering. Looking at the legal form of businesses, the second quarter of 2014 saw a significant return of sole proprietorships, which accounted for 45,1% of the entire balance (16.103 businesses, compared to 6.805 last year). It should be noted that of these companies, over 50% (8.160) are Italian and only 44% (7.079) are non-EU citizens.
Still high, and growing compared to 2013, is the contribution to the balance of companies set up as joint stock companies: 15.940 more in the quarter (+1,1% against +0,95 last year). It should be noted that just over 5% of the increase in the entrepreneurial base recorded in the period (almost 2 thousand units) is the result of the recovery of the artisan enterprises which recorded an increase in the stock equal to 0,14% (compared to the stagnation of the corresponding quarter of 2013), a result mainly determined by a significant reduction in terminations. As for company crises, between April and June of this year there was a 15,5% increase in the opening of bankruptcy proceedings compared to the same period in 2013: last spring, therefore, 4.044 companies took their books to court , 44 businesses per day including Saturday and Sunday.
“The crisis still weighs on the vitality of the Italian production system but, albeit with difficulty, the entrepreneurial fabric reacts and grows again” said the President of Unioncamere, Ferruccio Dardanello. "We are in an extremely delicate moment - he added - in which maximum attention must be paid to policies that can help or penalize the life plans of thousands of Italians who believe in business and who need to be accompanied, supported, favored . Because only in this way it is possible to give work back to those who have lost it or a chance to young people who are looking for it. The Government is grappling with the great challenge of reforms to get the country back on track - said the President of Unioncamere - and has the responsibility to make the right choices for development. Among these, there is undoubtedly the reform of the Chambers of Commerce, which companies have an extreme need for because, often, they are the only reference in the area capable of interpreting their needs and giving concrete and effective answers. Many are witnessing this these days with messages addressed to the executive and to Parliament and I hope that the reform of the Public Administration will be able to capitalize on these contributions to give new impetus to our institutions, helping us to make them even more efficient".
