The report emphasised that the level of bankruptcies was now at its lowest level since 2007 with 2013 also “showing for the first time, an inversion of the trend towards rising bankruptcies in effect since 2007” and clearly demonstrated in 2014 when the number of firms going to the wall fell by 20.6 percent.
The same two years also saw a total of 35,000 companies launched with the corresponding ratio of 2.5 new firms for every failure also the highest level since 2007.
“In conjunction with the numbers for closures and bankruptcies, this recovery in the number of new companies to levels similar to those prior to the Financial and Economic Assistance Programme taking effect represents a positive signal and that may suggest some adaptation and renewal in the national productive capacity,” said the Informa D&B General Director Teresa Cardoso de Menezes.
The same source identified how new tourism and accommodation companies had risen to third place as a percentage of new firms, beating construction from the position it had held since 2011, while remaining behind services and retail.
There has also been a geographic shift as from 2009 with the Northern region of Portugal emerging to the forefront and toppling Lisbon from its historic dominance.
There have also been winners and losers in terms of the other dimensions studied by Informa D&B: In respect of turnover and exports the reports referred to “positive signals” in both categories.
However, the now fourth ranked construction sector continues to be hit hard by recession with 2014 seeing a 9.5 percent drop in total company turnover in the sector.
However, agricultural, cattle raising, fishing and hunting companies put on a 4.3 percent spurt in their respective turnovers while the manufacturing sector grew by 1.2 percent in turnover and 6.6 percent in terms of exports that now account for almost half of its turnover.