Weakening of the Earning Power in Austrian Manufacturing

Based on a small panel of NACE 2-digit industries, econometric estimates indicate a cash flow to sales ratio of Austrian manufacturing firms of approximately 10.3 percent in 2008. This marks a significant drop from the extraordinarily high 13.7 percent in 2007, and can be explained by the beginning of the current crisis in the last quarter of 2008. Comparative international figures are only available up to 2007. This development contributed to the increase of the Austrian equity ratio to 38.5 percent, which for the first time lies above the European average of 36.7 percent. Both cash flow and equity of selected service industries differ significantly in their levels, which can be roughly be explained by economies of scale and market concentrations.