Medium -sized companies in need: Sales loss of 4.6 percent feared!

Medium -sized companies in need: Sales loss of 4.6 percent feared!

The current situation for small and medium-sized companies (SMEMUS) in Germany shows alarming trends, as a comprehensive survey by the KfW banking group illustrates. In 2023, these companies, which are often regarded as the backbone of the German economy, suffered a far -reaching decline in sales of 4.6 percent. This decline adds up to lost income of a total of 246 billion euros, which ultimately amounts to a total of around 5.1 trillion euros.

The fact that even price increases were not able to alleviate this negative trend is particularly worrying. Considered in real numbers, the sales of sales are even 10 percent. The survey only included companies with annual sales of up to 500 million euros, which together are responsible for around 32.83 million jobs in Germany. This corresponds to an increase of around 494,000 jobs compared to the previous year.

growing pessimism among companies

The mood among the entrepreneurs is also rather dark. In the survey, 35 percent of the companies surveyed stated that they would expect falling revenues for the current financial year, while only 15 percent expect an increase. This tendency towards skepticism was also reflected in the medium -term views: Up to and including 2026, 29 percent of companies expect their sales to continue to decrease. This is the highest value that has ever been determined in this survey.

The willingness to invest of the companies also suffers from this tense situation. Compared to the previous year, the proportion of companies that are willing to invest in their business has dropped by 4 percentage points to 39 percent. In addition, many entrepreneurs report difficulties in negotiating investment loans with banks. Smaller companies in particular are increasingly struggling with the fact that their inquiries are rejected or the negotiations are considered failed.

KfW economist Michael Schwartz commented on the situation with the determination that the German middle class basically remained stable. But he also warned that the foundation of the companies showed "some cracks", which are caused by the current economic situation. The data suggests that the challenges in the future could continue to increase without quick interventions and support for these companies. Further details on this worrying trend are in a detailed report on www.rhein-zeitung.de explained.