However, this figure puts Spain in a prominent position in Europe, as it is the second country with the fewest organizations without the experience and capacity to deal with the business consequences of rising prices. In particular, we will be only behind Germany (49%) and seven points better than the European average (58%) and other markets such as Italy (60%), France (57%) and the UK (54%). Entities claiming to be less able to deal with inflation in their business are Greece (68%), Estonia (67%) and Switzerland (66%).

With inflation, many companies see their profit margins threatened by losing customers due to rising prices for their own products, or rising costs of business. A situation that, in turn, affects its two main value assets: employees and suppliers.

According to the Intrum report, 54% Spanish organizations recognize does not have the capacity to meet the demand for increased wages from its workersbecause of the high inflation rate. Besides that, 61% put this problem as the main reason, sometimes, have difficulty to pay your supplier on time. This percentage will explain 76% from spanish company show has received a request to accept a longer payment term.

“Inflation will have a direct impact on companies’ ability to meet their payments on time, and therefore an increase in arrears, which is a real risk to the growth of the business network. This is a big challenge for companies that have to establish, among other things, a mechanism to reduce their clients’ payment periods,” he stressed. José Luis Bellosta, Managing Director of Intrum in Spain.

Rising interest rates, other key concerns

As inflation picks up, another major concern for Spanish companies is rising interest rates, which could leave companies and individuals in more vulnerable situations with greater difficulty paying their debts and, as a result, see their spending levels limited.

A situation that companies consulted by Intrum are also aware of, because, according to this new edition of the 2022 European Payments Report, almost 6 out of 10 companies (58%) they believe that interest rates will risewhich makes them more be careful with their investment and spending plans.

Spanish companies are in this aspect one point above the European average (59%), and in line with other economies such as Italy (58%). For their part, French and Austrian firms (65%) are the most cautious about their investment and spending plans in the face of rising interest rates, while German (55%) and Greek (52%) firms are more confident.