The most indebted energy-intensive industries include food, chemical, paper, metallurgy, and mineral products manufacturing. Together, overdue obligations in these sectors have exceeded 2.6 billion PLN, according to data from BIG InfoMonitor and BIK.
The most indebted energy-intensive industries are food, chemical, paper, metallurgy, and mineral products manufacturing, according to the report by BIG InfoMonitor and the Credit Information Bureau.
“The food industry had the largest share of overdue payments—despite a significant annual decrease of 505.5 million PLN—reaching 1.34 billion PLN by the end of February. The chemical industry, however, recorded the most dynamic percentage increase, rising by 29.6% to nearly 72 million PLN. The metallurgy sector also fared poorly, with overdue debts increasing by 24%, totaling 394.3 million PLN,” the report states.
The mineral products sector is also struggling with overdue debt. Its value reached 519.8 million PLN, representing an increase of 20.8 million PLN, or 4.2%. In the paper industry, overdue debt amounted to 273.7 million PLN. However, this sector managed to reduce its arrears by 12.4 million PLN, or 4.2%. According to BIG InfoMonitor and BIK, the total debt of these five industries exceeds 2.6 billion PLN.
The financial situation of energy-intensive sectors is negatively impacted by rising energy prices, high costs of purchasing CO₂ emission allowances, and the need to modernize technologies towards low-emission solutions. Companies often cannot directly pass these costs on to customers, resulting in shrinking margins. An additional issue is the limited access to financing, especially for fossil fuel-based installations that do not meet EU sustainable development standards. As a result, an increasing number of businesses are at risk of losing liquidity.
“The high level of overdue debt, both credit and non-credit, in many energy-intensive industries is no coincidence, but a consequence of overlapping pressures—cost, regulatory, and investment-related. Companies are not only paying more for energy, but they also must comply with rising environmental requirements. Where there is no capital buffer or investment support, the risk of losing financial liquidity increases,” said Waldemar Rogowski, chief analyst at BIG InfoMonitor, quoted in the report.