Latest industry risk indicators – June Month End Insights

• • Total debt under company debtors rose 16.3% year-on-year, with roughly a quarter of that growth attributable to fuel-price impacts on outstanding balances. The remainder reflects broad-based growth across vendor sectors.
  • Arrears eased further in April. 60-day-plus arrears fell to 2.75% (down 13bps MoM and 99bps YoY) and 90-day-plus eased to 1.70% (down 8bps MoM and 78bps YoY), supported by both lower overdue balances and a growing debt base.
  • 60-day-plus arrears declined across every region, led by Auckland. Christchurch recorded the largest year-on-year improvement, with Wellington and the other regions also moving lower.
  • The rolling annual volume of winding-up applications eased 0.9% month-on-month, though it remained 9.9% higher year-on-year, indicating insolvency pressure that is steadying rather than escalating.
  • Debtors going ‘bad’ (defaults, judgments, liquidations) rose 1.4% month-on-month and 4.9% year-on-year on a rolling annual basis, a gradual rather than sharp trend.
  • Construction activity rebounded strongly, with seasonally adjusted new dwelling consents surging 10.9% in April and the smoothed trend up a further 2.0%. South Island consent growth (+36.7% since Dec-19) continued to outpace the North Island (-6.7%), though the North is now showing clear signs of recovery.
  • Sales growth was positive across all major debtor industries, led by Concrete & Steel (+19.1% YoY), Retail (+17.9% YoY), Plumbing & Electrical (+15.7% YoY), Food & Beverage (+15.6% YoY) and Manufacturing (+12.7% YoY).
  • Construction remained the clear arrears outlier at 6.01% against an overall rate of 2.75%, though it improved materially month-on-month. Most other industries continued to ease.
  • Vendor-side payment behaviour (DSO) improved across most segments year-on-year, reflecting healthier cashflow and faster payment cycles, with only isolated exceptions such as Flooring.

For the full story, including sector-by-sector detail, regional analysis, and vendor payment insights, read our Latest Industry Risk Indicators, June Edition.