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"Little bosses" think they can overcome the crisis

2020-05-13T12:45:58.328Z


According to the quarterly barometer of the BPI and the Rexecode institute, less than 1% of the managers of SMEs and very small businesses plan to liquidate their company. Investment is also expected to fall sharply in 2020.


The economic shock of the new coronavirus is violent, but VSEs and SMEs are resistant and resilient. This is the main lesson from the quarterly barometer published on Wednesday by the Public Investment Bank (BPI) think tank, Bpifrance Le Lab, and the Rexecode institute.

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The two months of confinement put small French companies to the test, faced with a drastic drop in their turnover. With the gradual deconfinement started in France since Monday, the “ little bosses ” are wondering about their cash flow capacities in the face of the uncertainty of the rate of recovery in consumption.

Among the 615 executives surveyed in the midst of the crisis at the end of April, 59% of SMEs " anticipate a difficult recovery " after the confinement. Among the 91% of business leaders who anticipate a negative impact of the crisis on their activity, 41% believe that it will reduce their turnover by a third over the whole of 2020. Conversely, almost 40% of executives plan to return to normal quickly.

Less than 1% of “ small bosses ” are considering liquidation

Unsurprisingly, the investment bank explains that the treasury of SMEs has " very deteriorated in the last 3 months " and that it could be all the more so in the short term with " 82% of SMEs " who anticipate " deterioration over the next 3 months ". 47% of executives consider their current cash position " difficult ".

Read also: State guaranteed loans: new businesses can access them

But with regard to the mechanisms mobilized by the executive, only 7% consider their cash conditions insurmountable, and less than 1% of SMEs are considering liquidating their company. The cash position is even considered still " easy " by 10% of business leaders and " normal " by 43%. Invited to BFM Business on Wednesday, the director of studies at BpiFrance, Philippe Mutricy, praised " the successful support of the State " to avoid the bankruptcies of small businesses.

Thanks to loans guaranteed by the State (PGE), SMEs and VSEs have not noticed any deterioration in their conditions of access to credit. The latter massively requested the aid systems put in place by the government at the start of the confinement period. 79% of them resorted to partial activity and 58% to deferral of charges. While 44% have already applied for an EMP, 27% are now considering doing so.

37% of SMEs plan to invest in 2020

For three years, the “ small bosses ” estimated that the supply constraint, linked in particular to the difficulties of hiring, represented the main obstacle to growth. Now, companies are worried about a potential weak demand, details the document.

" Companies are now expecting sectoral recovery plans, which would be added to the emergency measures taken by the government at first ," explained Philippe Mutricy on BFM Business. It is still difficult to assess to what extent the French are ready to resume their consumption habits in a fragile economic environment. Especially since part of the population has lost purchasing power and some citizens are worried about a potential wave of layoffs in the coming months.

These uncertainties linked to the revival of consumption represent the main factor in renouncing investments. In this context, only 37% of SMEs plan to invest in 2020 compared to 55% three months ago. 60% of managers anticipate a drop in their capital expenditure. If the need for renewal and modernization of equipment continues, the share of investments devoted to the introduction of new products / services and upgrading to sanitary standards increases.

Source: lefigaro

All business articles on 2020-05-13

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