Iberinform, a market analysis company of the Crédito y Caución Group, recorded a decrease in insolvencies in February, with 494 insolvent companies, five fewer than in the same period of 2018 (-1%).
Its accumulated value is lower than in 2016 and 2017, but with 34 more insolvencies than in 2018 (an increase of 3,5% to a total of 1.007 insolvencies).
By type, it should be noted that, up to the end of February, requested insolvency declarations decreased by 29,4%, with 78 fewer actions registered. Insolvency declarations filed by the companies themselves fell by 12%, with 30 fewer actions compared to 2018, while closures with insolvency plans decreased from 16 in 2018 to four by the end of February (-75%). Insolvency declarations, corresponding to the closure of proceedings, increased from 442 to 596 (+34,8%). Overall, there is an increase of 34 insolvency actions compared to the first two months of last year, which translates into the aforementioned increase of 3,5%.
Lisbon and Porto are the districts with the most insolvencies, 201 and 257 respectively. Compared to 2018, there was a decrease of 24,4% in Lisbon and an increase of 29,1% in Porto.
The districts with the most pronounced decreases are Vila Real (-43,8%), Évora (-38,5%), Beja (-28,6%), Lisbon (-24,4%), Viseu (-22,2%), Portalegre (-20%) and Madeira (-18,5%). The districts showing the most noticeable increase are Horta (+200%), Ponta Delgada (+125%), Bragança (+120%), Angra do Heroísmo (+66,7%), Coimbra (+47,8%), Braga (+36%) and Faro (+35.7%).
Globally, in the accumulated figures for 2019, there were increases in insolvencies in nine districts (40,9% of the total districts), representing 24,5% of the total insolvency proceedings. There were also nine districts with reductions, accounting for 362 insolvency proceedings, which correspond to 35,9% of the total proceedings in the period. The districts of Leiria, Santarém, and Setúbal showed no changes compared to 2018, totaling 141 proceedings and representing 14% of the total insolvencies.
The sectors with a decrease in the number of insolvencies are electricity, gas, water (-66,7%), extractive industry (-50%), construction and public works (-10,1%), wholesale trade (-9,8%) and other services (-5,3%). Increases are seen in telecommunications (+100%), transport (+36,8%), manufacturing (+26,6%), agriculture, hunting and fishing (+25%), retail trade (+8,4%) and hotels and restaurants (+1,3%). The vehicle trade sector shows zero variation with 36 insolvencies.
An additional 899 new companies compared to the same period last year.
The number of new companies formed in the second month of the year increased from 3.769 in 2018 to 4.668 in 2019, an increase of 899 new companies year-on-year (a 23,9% increase). In the year to date, 11.330 new companies have been formed, 25,1% more than in 2018 and 44,5% more than in 2017.
The most significant figures are seen in Lisbon, with 3.569 new companies established (+15%), and in Porto, with 2.062 companies (+24,4%). Setúbal registered 886 new companies (+33,2%), followed by Braga (859 companies and an increase of 32%), Faro (672 companies and a growth of 20,9%), Aveiro (551 companies, +30,5%), Leiria (459 companies, +35,4%), Coimbra (343 companies, +42,3%), Santarém (332 companies, an increase of 39,5%), and Viseu with 255 companies and an increase of 30,8% compared to February 2018.
Only the district of Angra do Heroísmo saw a decrease in the number of constitutions, from 31 in 2018 to 27 in 2019 (-12,9%).
The sectors with the greatest variations are transport, which evolved from 316 in 2018 to 743 in 2019 (an increase of 135,1%), construction and public works, from 960 to 1.445 in 2019 (+50,5%), extractive industry, with 14 new incorporations versus 10 in 2018 (+40%), agriculture, hunting and fishing, from 232 to 322 in 2019 (+38,8%), and manufacturing, which increased from 526 to 675 in 2019 (+28,3%). Only the telecommunications sector registered a decrease of 8,3% compared to 2018, going from 24 to 22 new incorporations in February 2019.
