2026-01-04 06:00
publication
2026-01-04 06:00
The total overdue debt of the manufacturing sector increased by 4.3 percent during the year. reaching at the end of September this year level of nearly PLN 7.5 billion – reported BIG InfoMonitor. However, the number of indebted companies decreased.
The authors of the report pointed out that although the number of debtors in production decreased (from over 27,000 to 25,942), the total amount of arrears increased year on year from over PLN 7.1 billion to almost PLN 7.5 billion.
The most indebted segments are:
- production of motor vehicles – over PLN 333 million (increase in debt by over PLN 284 million – almost 587% y/y),
- metal production – over PLN 424 million (an increase of over PLN 85.5 million – over 25%)
- production of electrical equipment – nearly PLN 105 million (an increase of nearly PLN 29 million – almost 38%).
In turn, debt decreased, among others. production of food products – by nearly PLN 194 million (10.9%) – to almost PLN 1.59 billion.
“The increase in total debt in production, despite the decrease in the number of debtors, may be a signal of the concentration of the problem on larger representatives of the sector, especially in segments such as vehicle or metal production. This may lead to the creation of so-called zombie companies whose operating profits do not allow them to cover current and outstanding liabilities, but which are too large and important to fail,” said Paweł Szarkowski, president of BIG InfoMonitor, quoted in the information.
The most indebted voivodeship is Silesia, where companies' arrears amount to PLN 1.58 billion with PLN 3,000. 348 debtors. Next comes Mazovia (PLN 1.09 billion), which has the largest number of debtors in the country – 4,000. 106 companies. Companies from the province are also highly indebted. Greater Poland Voivodeship (PLN 683.7 million) and Pomeranian Voivodeship (PLN 531.5 million). In turn, enterprises from the province are the least indebted. Lubuskie (PLN 97.2 million) and Opole (PLN 110.3 million).
A study prepared by BIG InfoMonitor shows that 14 percent owners and managers of companies accept withholding salaries and bonuses. In turn, 13 percent sector representatives tolerate unethical behavior in business, such as transferring assets by a contractor in order to avoid debt, intentional lowering of prices as part of market competition, as well as failure to report employee contracts to ZUS or illegal work. In turn, 12 percent respondents tolerate late payment of financial obligations – such as ZUS contributions or taxes – and the sale of goods without a receipt.
The study on the financial culture of entrepreneurs carried out for BIG InfoMonitor by Quality Watch was conducted using the CAWI method on a sample of 552 companies in June 2025.
BIG InfoMonitor is part of the BIK Group; it includes the Credit Information Bureau SA and the Economic Information Bureau InfoMonitor SA and Digital Fingerprints SA (PAP)
fos/ drag/
