Business excelled last year

Greek businesses had a very strong year in 2022, with sales seen to be extremely enhanced in all sectors.

One could reasonably and easily assume this is a result of the high inflation that characterized the Greek economy last year. Beyond the general picture showing a 31% increase in nominal sales in 2022 compared to the last year before the pandemic, in 2019, there are two interesting facts highlighted by a relevant National Bank study: firstly, that the increase in nominal prices is also high, 11% overall, and secondly that the highest growth in nominal terms was recorded by sectors not directly related to final consumption, such as high-tech industry and construction.

At the same time, the strengthening of dynamics during the year was evident, with the fourth quarter recording sales 15% higher than in 2019 when inflation is excluded, registering the third highest increase in the European Union (both compared to 2019 and compared to the previous quarter). This acceleration was compatible with the course of business GDP, while at the same time a continuous improvement was noted in terms of operating profitability and investment activity.

Construction saw a 40% increase in sales in Q4 of 2022 from the corresponding quarter of 2019, with construction activity in Greece achieving the top performance in the EU. The high-tech sector recorded the highest growth rate of real sales in Greek business, namely by 47% in the fourth quarter of 2022 compared to Q4 of 2019. If anything, the high-tech industry is showing increased extroversion and the first signs of a trends convergence with the European average. Led by the IT industry, the information and communication technologies sector posted a 40% increase in Q4 2022 from three years earlier.

Another hopeful element is that the dynamics of the above industries are not limited to their narrow objective, but spread to related industries as well. For example, in addition to the sub-sectors of construction, the high-growth sectors have now included almost all construction-supporting activities.