Builders top list of debtors brought to court
TWELVE Kerry companies have had court judgements issued against them for the recovery of unpaid debts in the fourth quarter of 2009, new figures reveal.
However, despite the downturn in the economy, the figures show that the value of court judgements against companies in Kerry in the period dipped sharply compared with the previous year.
In the last three months of 2008, €111,210 worth of judgements were lodged against Kerry companies compared to just €62,099 in the fourth quarter of 2009.
According to the figures published by Dublin-based corporate information provider, the Irish Companies Comparison (ICC), this represents a decrease of 34 per cent on 2008.
Court judgements provide a useful guide to corporate financial health and are a leading indicator that a company is facing insolvency. A significant proportion of court judgements represent court actions to recover unpaid trade debts.
The number of judgements against Kerry companies had been rising steadily through the year until the sharp decline towards the end of the year.
Judgements were made against eight companies in quarter one and against nine companies in the second quarter and 20 in the third quarter.
In all of last year there were a total of 49 court judgements made against Kerry companies and these were worth a total €711,955.
The construction sector accounted for the largest number of court judgements, at 31 per cent, followed by manufacturing at 14 per cent and other business activities at 13 per cent.
- SIMON BROUDER sbrouder@kerryman.ie
