Fewer companies were at risk of closing in June 2005, according to Business Data Israel’s (BDI) weighted business risk index. 46,200 companies and businesses were at risk of closing in June, compared with 47,100 in May and over 48,000 in January.
The average risk rose to 6.12 in June, following a rise in May. BDI general manager Tehila Tamir-Yanay said, “There’s a long way to go before the economy reaches full recovery, and continuous improvement can’t be expected.”
15.4% of companies were at very high risk in June, compared with 15.7% in May. 17.6% were at higher than average risk (17.3%), 58.9% at medium risk (58.2%), and 8.1% at negligible or low risk (8.8%).
For the third consecutive month, risk was highest in transportation services, but average risk in this sector did improve from 7.54 in May and 7.39 in June 2004 to 7.32 in June 2005.
Risk worsened again in the chemicals sector, which was the most stable in 2004 and early 2005. Average risk in the sector is now medium at 4.9, but chemicals are still the safest sector.
Other sectors in which average risk rose, compared with June 2004, were entertainment (up 10.1%), communications (6.4%), cosmetics (4.1%), and tourism (2.9%).
Sectors in which average risk fell included finances (down 8.3%), construction (7.9%), manufacturing (7.1%), rubber and plastics (6.5%), and textiles (6.4%).
Payment ethics deteriorated in June, with the average number of credit days rising from 92 to 95, and the average number of payment arrears days rising from five to seven, the most since the beginning of the year.
Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on July 6, 2005