A study on the effects of Covid-19 on Greek businesses & the economy

Study identity

The present study examines the expected effects of the economic conditions as developed due to Covid-19, on the critical sizes of the Greek businesses, as well as on the Greek economy in its entirety. The study is divided into three sections:

• The first section outlines the industries affected by COVID-19
  
  
• The second section presents our assessment of the impact of COVID-19 on the Greek economy as an aggregate (GDP).
  
  
• The third section presents our estimates of the impact of COVID-19 on key sizes of the Greek businesses for the purposes of assessing business liquidity in 2020 as compared to the previous year. 

Key study conclusions

• Businesses representing 69% of the total turnover of Greek businesses were directly affected by the Covid 19 pandemic as a result of limitation or even cessation of their operations.
• In total, businesses that generate a turnover of € 32.9 billion (11% of the total turnover) and employ approximately 1.1 million executives (25% of the total) have ceased operations due to the pandemic.
• The initial estimate shows that in 2020, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will decrease by 8.5%. The impact of the pandemic on high-value-added tourism-related industries of the economy, such as transport, accommodation and catering, contribute to the decrease of GDP.
• Given a sample of 17,000 companies with a turnover of over € 200 k.
  ‒ a decrease in turnover by -12.4% is expected to be recorded in 2020.
  ‒ a decrease in operating profitability (EBITDA) by -39% is expected to be recorded in 2020.
  ‒ a decrease in liquidity by € 5.6 billion is estimated to be recorded as a result of the limitations and the economic impact of the pandemic on their operations.