B2B payment practices trends, Austria 2024

Key takeaways from the report for Austria

The 2024 Payment Practices Barometer survey for Austria was conducted between the end of Q1 and the beginning of Q2 2024. The findings should therefore be viewed with this in mind.

Negative DSO and bad debts trend create financial strain

• Trade credit is currently being offered to B2B customers by 90% of companies across all sectors of our survey in Austria. This widespread practice results in 48% of all B2B sales in the construction industry being transacted on credit, and 42% in the transport sector. A downward trend sees an average 24% of credit sales in the steel/metals industry.
   
• Payment terms are increasing across all industries in Austria. This is to boost sales and also to align with payment terms from suppliers to establish a balanced cashflow cycle. The construction sector shows the longest payment term at an average 71 days. In the steel/metals sector this is 62 days, while in the transport industry it stands at 60 days.

Heightened economic uncertainty and geopolitical risks weigh on  businesses

• The current challenging economic climate, with persistently high inflation and low growth prospects, is a general concern for companies across all sectors in Austria. The impact of geopolitical tensions is also a widespread worry, particularly in the transport industry
  because of the potential severe effects of disruption in the Red Sea.
   
• Short-term anxiety in the construction sector is focused especially on environmental and sustainability issues as well as the capability to secure new clients and projects.
  30% of steel/metals companies have severe worries about the recovery of the industry in the short-term because of subdued demand.

The Atradius Payment Practices Barometer is an annual survey of business-to-business (B2B) payment practices in markets across the world. Its findings can give valuable insights into the current dynamics of corporate payment behaviour in B2B trade. It can also help companies doing business, or planning to do so, in the markets polled to identify emerging future trends in the payment practices of B2B customers. 

Interested in finding out more? 

For a complete overview of the 2024 survey results for Austria and Western Europe, please download the full reports available in the related documents section below. 

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