Results and profitability of Spanish companies increased strongly in the first quarter of 2023. Quarterly Balance Sheet Pre-tax (and atypical) result of companies that make up the survey sample released by the Bank of Spain this Monday It grew by 68.1% in the first quarter of this year Compared to the same period in 2022, intermediate production costs and for financial income. The energy sector led the way in this improvement in business results: it increased its gross ordinary result by 2.4 times in the first quarter.
Despite 8.3% increase in personnel costs, savings in production costs increase profits
Strong growth close to 70% gross ordinary profit (RON) came out like this sales remained almost stagnant (growing only 0.7%) and personal expenses increased by 8.3%. As pointed out by 916 non-financial companies (representing 12.1% of the total gross value added of the companies) that make up the Quarterly Central Balance Sheet sample, number of workers While it increased by 2.2% (period average), average wage grew by 5.9%.
As the Bank of Spain underlines, industry, energy and large companies are overrepresented in the quarterly central balance sheet survey. While this does not change the overall trend shown by the data, as is often pointed out by the Research Service of the Bank of Spain, it does require some precise figures from the survey.
The energy sector doubles its results
In fact, as indicated in the Bank of Spain’s own report, the practical recession in sales (0.7%) is strongly tied to the decline presented in this headline. energy sectorAfter the strong growth of 98.3% in the first quarter of 2022, the shrank by 14.5% industry (7%), trade and hospitality (4.3%), in information and communication (4.7%) and other activities (23.6%).
decrease in sales energy sector It could not prevent it from doubling its gross economic result (-14.5%) (103% increase), increasing its operating profit margin by 16.4%, increasing its pre-tax result by 2.4 times or increasing its normal return on assets up to 6.9%.
This industryHowever, it shows a 15.6% decrease in its gross profit due to the pressure of intermediate and personnel expenses. Although the operating profit of the sector increased by 38.9%, the net ordinary result before tax decreased by 30.8%.
Turnover by company type, Big company increased by almost 0.6% in the first quarter, medians increased by 16.8%.
Higher profitability than before the pandemic
Reducing your costs raw materials and energy – for the first quarter of 2022 – and gradual correction bottleneck events in international supply chains favored lower prices. production cost and the resulting recovery in business results.
The return on assets ratio is 3.7% in the first quarter of 2023 (compared to 2.2% in 2022) and slightly higher than in the first quarter of 2019 (3.1%) according to the Bank of Spain’s analysis, pre-pandemic period. Increasing the profitability of the sector, energy, 6.9% in 2023 compared to 2.3% in the same period in 2022, and information and communicationAccording to the companies that make up the database of this central balance sheet, it increased from 5.9% in the first quarter of 2022 to 9% in the first quarter of 2023.