According to the Bank of Portugal (BdP) new 'Regional economic and financial indicators of non-financial corporations', the percentage of companies with losses “increased in all regions”, with “more than half of the companies in the Algarve and the Autonomous Region of Madeira recording negative net profits negative (52.2% and 52.5% of companies, respectively)”.

Among the companies headquartered in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, 49.1% were in the same circumstance.

Central bank data also points out that the return on corporate assets fell from 7.6% to 5.9% between 2019 and 2020, in a decrease “transversal to all regions”, but “more expressive” in the Algarve and Madeira, whose business fabric depends more on accommodation and catering.

According to the BdP, the reduction in profitability “was less pronounced in the North and Centre regions”, and “in 2020, these regions also had the highest profitability values”.