Press release dated 29/10/2010

EQUITY ACCOUNTS OF NON-FINANCIAL COMPANIES (CPENF) 2008

24.7% of business equity was in large companies, which generated 12.4% of total employment

47,1% of the assets of non-financial companies belonged to the industrial sector

The largest companies (over 250 employees) were most capital intensive, given that given that they accounted for 24.7% of the total assets of the economy with 12.4% of employment in 2008, according to Eustat data. The classification of the equity among the different employment brackets showed that the other companies taken together – micro- (1-9 employees), small (10-49 employees) and medium-sized companies (50-249 employees) – only held 75.3% of the assets, even though they accounted for 87.6% of people employed. Furthermore, the micro-companies held 36.5% of the business equity and accounted for 42,6% of the total number of employed people

Estimated equity for all non-financial companies of the Basque Country stood at 185,106 million euros in 2008, 47.1% of which belonged to the industrial sector. The other assets were distributed between the 44,.% of the service sector and the 8,1% held by the construction sector. Non-financial companies in these three sectors employed 816,396 people in the Basque Country, 80.2% of the total number of people employed in 2008.

Source: Eustat. Equity accounts of non-financial companies

As regards the weight of the different entries under Assets of the balance sheet, Fixed Assets accounted for 53.3% of the total while Current Assets stood at 46.7%. Under the headings that make up Fixed Assets, most notable in terms of importance was Tangible Fixed Assets (49.0%) and Investments in Group Companies and Affiliates (33.2%). There were also two items that stood out under Current Assets: TradeDebtors, that accounted for 39,9% of the total, and Stock with 28,3%.

With regard to the Net Equity and Liabilities on the balance sheet, the share of its headings was as follows: Net Equity, which accounts for 39.3% of the total, Long-term Liabilities 24.4%. With Net Equity, special mention should be made of Own Funds with two important headings: Reserves (47.1%) and Capital (31.9%).

In the distribution of assets by sectors, the importance of industry was made clear within the economy of the Basque Country. Thus, 47.1% of assets corresponded to the industrial sector which only generated 30.7% of employment, construction had 8.1% of assets with 11.8% of employment and, finally, market services accounted for 44.8% of equity with 57.5% of employment

Important differences can be seen in the composition of company liabilities in the construction sector compared to those of industry and market services The construction sector had Current Liabilities, associated with the short term, of 51.0%, while the industrial sector stood at 34.1% and market services at 36.1%.

Important differences can also be seen in business assets by sectors. Thus, current assets in the construction sector accounts for 77.8% of the total assets, while they stood at 39.6% in the industrial sector and 48.4% in the case of market services.

In the analysis of the balance sheets, the Working Capital (difference between Current Assets and Current Liabilities) was positive, standing at 19,150 million euros, which meant that sufficient resources were generated to deal with short-term debts (due in the short term) as they fell due. However, as a result of the different balance sheet structures by business sectors, the working capital of the companies in the construction sector accounted for 26.9% of its assets, while the figure stood at 5.6% for the industrial sector and 12.4% for the market services sector.

Methodological note

The operation has been adapted to the new General Accountancy Plan, which is the result of adapting accounting legislation as part of the international harmonisation process based on EU legislation and in line with the recommendations of the European Commission.

For further information:

Basque Statistics Office C/ Donostia-San Sebastián, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz Tlf:+34-945-01 75 00 Fax:+34-945-01 75 01 E-mail: eustat@eustat.eus Contact: Patxi Garrido Tlf:+34-945-01 75 13 Fax:+34-945-01 75 01 Online press releases: www.eustat.eus