Publications

Despite a rebound in both the Italian and Spanish construction sectors payment duration is still long and insolvencies levels remain elevated.

In the UK chemicals sector there are high barriers to get into a successful team, while the industry shows a solid performance in Slovakia.

In both countries there are star players within the sector, while some segments are weaker, e.g. in German beverage subsector profit margins decrease.

The ball keeps on rolling for machinery in both countries, but difficulties have increased. The level of protracted payments is high in both markets.

Italy´s chemicals sector is finally scoring at home due to a modest economic rebound, while Ireland has all top pharmaceuticals players in the team.

Despite still robust growth rate of the ICT market in China, challenges are increasing. Competition is getting fiercer, and labour costs are increasing.

Despite overall growth, many French ICT companies face structurally low margins, price pressure and an on-going consolidation process in the market.

The ICT market in the United States is expected to benefit further from stable economic growth. No further decrease in insolvencies expected in 2016.

The pharmaceuticals sector performs very well in both countries. However, the French pharmacy segment faces some troubles due to decreasing margins.

Unless they are well-established in niche products, smaller companies in Germany are expected to continue to be the losers in a cut-throat environment.

The IT spending capacity of SMEs in Italy remains subdued. This may be a consequence of still restricted access to bank loans for smaller businesses.

In the UK, many IT resellers continue to lessen their reliance on hardware sales by offering value added services in order to increase their margins.

The Australian government is driving growth in the IT market through its purchase programme and various initiatives, such as a Cyber Security Strategy.

In 2016, growth in the Japanese ICT sector is expected to be modest at 0.9%, due to market saturation and a low economic growth forecast of 0.6%.

The industry is characterised by sharp price erosion and fierce competition, especially in the wholesalers segment. Market concentration is still on-going.

Currently all Russian electronics / ICT subsectors face major troubles, especially those retailers and wholesalers that trade in foreign currency.

Still a red card: many payment delays, and construction insolvencies in both France and Romania are expected to remain on a very high level in 2016.

A draw in sector comparison, as both the Slovakian and the UK automotive industry show a robust performance. Payment behaviour is generally good.

In both countries the food industry is scoring abroad, as exports have emerged as the main driving force of sales. However, some subsectors face problems.

An uneven match, given that the British ICT industry is doing rather well, while the Russian ICT sector is caught in a downturn, with many insolvencies.