The Bpifrance/Rexecode barometer, published Wednesday, November 16, shows the concerns of business leaders concerning the explosion of the energy bill. The announced brake would however succeed two years of strong investments.
by Béatrice Madeline
Approaching winter, it is not the prospects of a global recession, accompanied by strong inflation, or the relative degradation of their cash and their command book that most concern the chiefs business. No, it is rather the explosion of the energy bill and the way they will be able to face it, as confirmed by the Bpifrance/Rexecode barometer, published Wednesday, November 16.
The question of whether they can maintain their production while reducing their energy consumption, 38 % of business leaders for whom gas is the main source of energy respond in the negative. In other words, if they cannot assume price increases, they will have to produce less.
The proportion is almost the same for oil users (35 %). But it drops to 22 % for those who mainly use electricity. As for the room for maneuvering companies that can consume less, it remains low: very few VSEs and SMEs think they can reach the threshold of 10 % reduction in energy consumption without impact on activity. And one in four business manager says he is unable to say how he will adapt.
This situation has an immediate impact: “As long as they have no visibility on the price of energy, business leaders choose to postpone investments”, explains Philippe Mutrcy, director of studies from Bpifrance. Despite financing conditions which remain favorable, according to the barometer, now, less than a business manager has invested or intends to do so in 2022, or ten points less than at the start of the year.
reassuring indices on inflation
The impact of this brake stroke remains to be put into perspective: it succeeds two years of strong investments, companies taking advantage of their fed cash to finance equipment or processing projects, for example in digital.
“The investment has progressed twice as fast as GDP since the health crisis,” said Baptiste Thornary, chief economist of Bpifrance. The output of investment intentions can also be explained by the degradation of cash, which affects one in three business, but which must also be put into perspective: it corresponds rather to a return to normal after the COVVID crisis. Moreover, business failures, if they gradually catch up their long -term level, remain contained: with 38,525 procedures identified between November 2021 and October 2022, according to figures published Wednesday November 16 by the Banque de France, we stay still almost 25 % below the 2019 level of failures.
You have 20.54% of this article to read. The continuation is reserved for subscribers.