Business Activity Impairments, Liquidity Shortages and the Effect of Price Increases in the Fourth COVID-19 Wave

The fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic brought with it major challenges: around 81 percent of the companies surveyed reported adverse effects on business activity in the last three months, with supply bottlenecks and difficulties in finding employees being the most frequently cited. Liquidity assessments have not changed significantly compared to August 2021. For spring 2022, most companies (77 percent) continued to expect constraints: supply bottlenecks and difficulties in finding employees were mentioned in particular. Supply bottlenecks and price increases led to a reduction in profit margins for the majority of companies. Many companies raised their sales prices due to the increase in input prices, energy prices and collective wage agreements. Companies that did not raise their sales prices cited competitive pressure as the main reason for not raising prices.