Moreover,
Champion payment delays:
Belgium retains. However, for the second consecutive year, the last place among the countries of Northern European in terms of punctuality of corporate payments. Therefore,
According to the last Payment Study published by Altares Dun & Bradstreet61.9 % of Belgian companies paid their invoices late in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Despite a slight improvement in other countries in the region, payment delays remain structurally high in Belgium. Meanwhile, For comparison, Denmark displays 94.2 %of payments on time, followed by Poland (87.5 %) and Russia (81.3 %). Consequently, In Belgium, the share of invoices paid more than 90 days late reached 2.4 %, compared to 2.3 % in 2023 and 1.6 % in 2022.
More frequent delays in large companies – Champion payment delays
The trend is particularly marked within large Belgian companies (more than 260 employees). of which only 14 % paid champion payment delays their invoices on time. This rate is lower than that of medium -sized companies (28.5 %) and small businesses (34.5 %). Micro-enterprises (less than 5 employees) remain the most punctual, although their performance is deteriorating: 39.2 % payments within the end of 2024, against 41.7 % a year earlier.
“Large Belgian companies still have difficulty respecting payment deadlines. However, they do not use extreme delays, unlike micro-enterprises, 2.5 % of which exceed 90 days of delay, “said Barry de Goeij, senior data scientist at Altares Dun & Bradstreet.
Transport, retail and textiles in pain
Sectoral disparities are also significant. Agriculture (44.2 %payments within the deadline), services (42.3 %) and finance (42.1 %) are relatively better. Conversely, the transport and distribution sector remains the most poorly classified, with only 30.2 % of punctual payments.
The retail trade records the highest proportion of payments made more than 90 days late champion payment delays (4.4 %), a stable figure compared to the previous year.
The textile sector experiences a marked degradation of its payment behavior. In clothing and other textile products, the share of payments on time fell to 35.3 % (-8 points), while it increased to 31.1 % in the textile industry (-6.7 points). The study points in particular to the increase in costs (energy. materials, wages), competition from foreign online shops and a drop in turnover as explanatory factors.
An overall impact on the economy
Payment delays persist in an uncertain economic context. marked by geopolitical tensions and risks of trade war. This situation weakens the supply chains and affects the cash flow of many companies.
“Payment delays do not only concern companies in difficulty. They create a domino effect on the entire economic chain, ”concludes Barry de Goeij.
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