Simon Hunter
SPANISH companies nearly doubled their business volume in 2022 compared to the year before, thanks in large part to the energy sector.
This is despite the fears over the economy last year, prompted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, high inflation and the rising cost of living.
Firms in Spain saw their volume of business increase by 41% in 2022 compared to the year before, a marked improvement on the previous year’s figure of 21%, when the country was emerging from the Covid-19 pandemic that hit in 2020.
Of that 41%, the energy sector accounted for nearly 17 percentage points.
That’s according to figures released on Monday by the Bank of Spain, which show that electricity and gas firms in Spain saw joint profits of €12.8 billion in 2022, partly due to the rise in energy costs caused last year by the war.
Meanwhile, the same companies in the Bank of Spain report (which exclude financial firms) saw a rise in net profits of 91%, compared to 32% the year before.
Retail and hospitality were two other sectors that saw major growth in 2022, rising 7% in 2021 and 11% last year, while the industrial sector grew 11% compared to 5.5% the year before.
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