Series: Analytical Articles.
Author: Álvaro Menéndez.
Topics: Spain | Economic situation | Financial analysis.
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Abstract
On information from the Central Balance Sheet Data Office Quarterly Survey (CBQ), activity at non-financial corporations slowed in 2019 Q1, with gross value added (GVA) increasing very moderately (0.4%), below that posted in the same period last year. Employment continued to rise (0.6%), but also at a slower pace than in 2018. In this setting, the return on investment ratio declined slightly, while debt ratios rose somewhat, reversing the downward trend of recent years. However, the decline in average borrowing costs, together with the slight growth in profit, led to a further decrease in the debt burden ratio, down to all-time lows in the CBQ historical series. The article includes a box which shows that the average headcount at Spanish firms in 2017 stood below the pre-crisis level. However, despite this aggregate performance, a significant proportion of firms were able to increase their headcount during the period analysed.