The survey, ordered by receivables management group EOS, states individuals have payment deadlines of 33 days, compared to 29 days in Eastern Europe (includes Russia, Poland, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Romania, Greece, Hungary), while companies have 40 days to pay their bills, compared to 42 days in the region. The delay period after deadline is 28 days, one day more than in the region.
The survey polled 2,600 people with management positions in 12 European countries.
“In Romania there is a tendency to delay payment; 24% of clients in Romania pay bills late, fewer than in Bulgaria (25%), but more than in European countries,” Georg Kovacs, general manager of EOS KSI Romania said Tuesday.
The payment behavior of companies is determined by cash flow problems, non-payment of bills by their own customers, while the payment behavior of individuals is mainly influenced by unemployment.
Of Romanian companies, 34% estimate payment behavior will improve in the next two years, on a par with expectations of companies in the eastern European region, of 33%. Among individuals, 52% estimate the situation will improve, compared to 34% in Eastern Europe.
“Major future challenges for companies will be dealing with the economic situation, reducing profit margin loss and cash flow issues, which are the most frequent consequences of non-performing debts,” said Kovacs.
Nearly half of Romanian companies (47%) mark lower profits due to their customers’ inability to pay, while other major issues are cash flow (42%) and growing interest rates (36%), according to the survey. On the other hand, the rate of non-performing loans (debts that can no longer be recovered) has improved considerably, from nearly 10% in 2012 to 5% this year.
EOS is an international provider of receivable management services, with 20,000 customers in 25 countries.
Founded in 2002, EOS KSI Romania is part of EOS Holding GmbH starting 2005. It has 11 regional offices and over 600 employees.