The bad developments for major Finnish companies began even before the coronavirus epidemic hit the country severely.
According to Statistics Finland's preliminary data, the seasonally adjusted turnover of large enterprises contracted by 0.4% in February 2020 compared with January. In January, seasonally adjusted turnover fell by 0.6%, while in December, turnover was 0.5% higher than in the month before.
The unadjusted turnover of large enterprises fell by 1.4% in February 2020 compared with February 2019. The turnover of large enterprises grew only by 0.3% in December to February from one year ago.
The turnover estimate of large enterprises is based on a sample formed of 2,000 enterprises with the most significant turnover in manufacturing, construction, trade and other service industries. Excluded from the statistics are enterprises engaged in primary production, and bank and insurance activities.
The enterprises described in the statistics make up approximately 70% of the total turnover of all enterprises operating in Finland, represent more than one-half of the investments made and employ good 40% of the personnel of all enterprises.
The data can be used for short-term monitoring of development in business activities and the market. But the economic situation of the whole enterprise sector cannot be assessed solely based on these statistics, because the economic development of smaller enterprises may differ from large enterprises.
