8 million companies in Europe would hire more employees if they got paid faster

  ·
According to every third European company (32 percent), faster payments from
customers would make it possible to hire more employees. It is equivalent to 8
million businesses*.

* The figures are based on that there are in total 25.3 million businesses in
the countries surveyed , according to official data. Source: Eurostat SBS Nace
rev 2

  ·
Every fourth company in Europe (24 percent) also stated that there is a
correlation between late payments and the need to lay off staff.

  ·
6 out of 10 companies estimate that late payments are part of a deliberate
strategy of their debtors. This applies to B2B companies and means that
corporate debt strategies contribute to fewer jobs.

  ·
Half of the companies surveyed say they have been asked to accept longer payment
period than they are comfortable with.
Every third company in Europe would be able to hire more employees if they got
paid faster. It appears from the debt collection company Intrum Justitia's
European Payment Report 2015, based on questions about payment answered by 8979
companies in 29 countries. 32 percent answered yes to the question "Would you
hire more if you got the invoices paid faster?" This corresponds to 8 million
businesses in the countries surveyed.

” There are 25 million companies in the countries included in our survey.  If we
relate this to the fact that there are 23 million people without a job in the
EU, one can conclude that if every company employed one more the unemployment
would be erased - a theoretical yet interesting assumption. Our survey indicates
that 8 million companies would probably employ at least one more if they
received faster payments. This example illustrates the great importance of
payment issues and payment management”, comments Lars Wollung, CEO & President
of Intrum Justitia.

The geographical differences are relatively large. In southern European
countries it is four out of ten companies and in Eastern European countries, 44
percent, who believe themselves to be able to hire more if they got paid faster.
In northern Europe, the figure is 16 percent.

Would faster payments from your debtors enable your company to hire more
employees?

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Every other European company states that they have been asked to accept longer
payment period than they are comfortable with. When asked about the consequences
of late payments, the connection to employment is clear: Every third company
sees a clear connection to not being able to hire more and one in four companies
(24 percent) also stated that late payments contribute to the need to lay off
staff. Among companies with more than 50 employees it is 19 per cent who see a
correlation between late payments and having to terminate employees.

Intrum Justitia has also asked about what the main causes are to customers
paying late. It turns out that 6 of the 10 judges that "deliberately late
payments" are a principal cause. This also applies to companies which have only
business customers and it means that conscious strategies to pay late
contributes to reduced liquidity, which in turn contributes to fewer jobs.

What are the main causes of late payment of your own customers?
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For more information and downloadable content, click here:
http://intrum.com/EPR2015

About Intrum Justitia

Intrum Justitia is Europe’s leading Credit Management Services (CMS) group,
offering comprehensive services, including purchase of receivables, designed to
measurably improve clients’ cash flows and long-term profitability. Founded in
1923, Intrum Justitia has some 3,800 employees in 20 markets. Consolidated
revenues amounted to about SEK 5.2 billion in 2014. Intrum Justitia AB is listed
on Nasdaq Stockholm since 2002. For further information, please visit
www.intrum.com

About Intrum Justitia European Payment Report

The European Payment Report 2015 is based on a survey that was conducted
simultaneously in 29 European countries between February and April 2015. In this
report Intrum Justitia gathers data from thousands of companies in Europe to
gain insights in the payment behavior and financial health of European
businesses.

For more information, please contact:

Annika Billberg,
IR & Communications Director
Tel: + 46 8 546 102 03
Mobile: + 46 702 67 97 91
E-mail: a.billberg@intrum.com