Half of Spanish firms saw revenues drop in fourth quarter, survey shows

MADRID (Reuters) – Almost half of Spanish companies saw revenues decline in the fourth quarter from the previous one as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, a survey by the Bank of Spain showed on Thursday.

The survey showed 48.5% of the companies polled reporting a fall in revenues in the fourth quarter, with half of those saying the decline was of “significant magnitude”.

Almost the same share of the surveyed companies, 45.9%, said they expected revenues to decline in the first quarter of 2021, according to the survey, which was carried out in November.

The results suggest Spain’s economic recovery, which started in the third quarter after a strict lockdown was lifted, is likely to have slowed down in the last few months of 2020.

Spain’s gross domestic product expanded 16.7% in the third quarter from the second, though it was still 8.7% smaller than a year ago after a record slump in the second quarter.

Economy Minister Nadia Calvino has said the pace of recovery likely slowed, but the government still expects small quarter-on-quarter growth in the fourth quarter, while projecting a full-year contraction of 11.2%.