Irreparable waste: losses of Russian business reached a record 7.5 trillion
The losses of Russian companies in the first 11 months of last year amounted to 7.5 trillion rubles, which is a record for the entire period of observation. In 2024, business losses were less than 7 trillion, and in 2023 - 4 trillion, according to Rosstat data analyzed by Izvestia. Manufacturing, mining, and trade sank the most. For example, KAMAZ, T Plus (electric power and heat supply) and the DVMP shipping company turned out to be unprofitable. Among the reasons are expensive loans, weak demand, sanctions and rising costs. What can change the situation and who has become a plus is in the Izvestia article.
Why is the damage to companies in Russia growing?
In January – November 2025, 18.2 thousand companies suffered losses. Their total losses reached 7.5 trillion rubles, according to the report "Socio-economic situation of Russia" published by Rosstat (Izvestia analyzed it). This is the largest amount ever recorded. For comparison, a year earlier this figure was 7% less — about 7 trillion. And for 11 months of 2023, it amounted to about 4 trillion.
The share of unprofitable companies last year was 28.8%, the highest since the pandemic of 2020 (then it was 32.1%).
As the Ministry of Energy clarified to Izvestia, operational data does not display information for the entire range of enterprises — now it is worth waiting for the receipt of accounting statements. In addition, as for the situation in specific industries, the departments at the site of the special commission regularly develop operational measures, the ministry added.
One of the key factors was the rise in the cost of loans, which peaked at the beginning of last year. From October 2024 to June 2025, the Bank of Russia kept the key rate at a record high of 21% per annum - only in the summer did the regulator begin to gradually reduce it. The Central Bank is expected to leave the rate unchanged at 16% at the February 13 meeting.
Export-oriented industries are affected by the compression of demand, the Ministry of Energy continued. Other factors include price pressure and increased competition in most markets as a result of a slowdown in the global economy, particularly the Chinese economy, as well as growing geopolitical uncertainty.
The press service added: for industries focused on the domestic market, the most significant factor was the cooling of domestic demand against the background of declining investment in the development of production.
For many companies, a significant portion of profits is spent on debt servicing, and some cannot attract new financing at all, said Vladimir Eremkin, senior researcher at the IPEI Structural Research Laboratory at the Presidential Academy. As a result, the business is facing a shortage of working capital, and development plans are under threat, he said.
The slowdown in the economy also played a major role. If GDP grew by 4.3% in 2024, then by 1% in 2025, Natalia Milchakova, a leading analyst at Freedom Finance Global, recalled. In addition, sanctions restrictions, as well as an increase in the cost of logistics and rental of real estate, were important factors, said Maxim Barashev, managing partner of BBNP.
— In international practice, the share of unprofitable companies during periods of economic slowdown can also approach 25-30%, however, for sustainable growth this level is considered alarming, since it directly affects investments and the tax base: falling profits means a reduction in income tax receipts, an increase in debt burden and a more cautious business investment policy, — the director explained according to the strategy of IC Finam Yaroslav Kabakov.
He added: already, the financial results of some large commodity and infrastructure companies have deteriorated, reflecting the general trend of declining profitability in capital-intensive sectors.
Which companies have the biggest losses and profits
According to Rosstat, the largest losses are recorded in manufacturing (in particular, in the production of petroleum products, metallurgy), in wholesale trade and mining (especially oil and natural gas, coal). This does not mean that all companies in these areas have gone into negative territory, but their costs are the largest. At the same time, their profits can be high. According to Maxim Barashev, these segments are still the most sensitive.
Thus, the financial stability of Russian manufacturing industries decreased in 2025 due to a reduction in domestic demand and a high key interest rate, he explained. Developers and transport engineering enterprises are also experiencing the most acute difficulties. In addition, the light industry is suffering — manufacturers are under pressure from high cost and tax burden, while the market is simultaneously filled with cheaper products from China and Turkey.
In the field of trade, the decline was caused by high inflation, which led to a reduction in consumer demand, especially in the first half of 2025, Natalia Milchakova from Freedom Finance Global emphasized. Low activity and the transition of the population to a savings model of behavior lead to the fact that this sector has the most business closures, added Vladimir Eremkin from the IPEI Presidential Academy.
Mining, in turn, suffers from sanctions. To this was added the strengthening of the ruble (by almost a quarter), which hit exporters, said Ahmed Yusupov, an economist and partner at the Goldman Agency communications agency. According to him, the oil companies of Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug faced losses amid a reduction in dampening payments (compensation from the state, mitigating financial losses of companies) and a decrease in foreign exchange earnings. In addition, Vladimir Eremkin continued, about three quarters of coal companies are unprofitable.
Izvestia studied the financial statements of companies based on open sources. Thus, the net loss of KAMAZ under RAS for the first nine months of last year increased by 7.6 times and amounted to 29.1 billion rubles. In addition, according to RAS, T Plus (a company in the field of electric power and heat supply) reached almost 2.5 billion rubles in January –September, compared with a profit of 7.19 billion rubles 12 months earlier. And the Far Eastern Shipping Company (the parent company of the FESCO transport group) lost 1.9 billion rubles. The editors sent inquiries to the company.
At T Plus, the situation was associated with a high key. However, they added that by the end of 2025, net profit is expected to amount to 2 billion, due to the start of the heating period in the fourth quarter, as well as a reduction in the Central Bank rate.
At the same time, over 11 months, almost 45 thousand organizations have received a profit of about 33 trillion. According to RAS, Sberbank reached 1.69 trillion rubles in 2025, exceeding the indicator of 2024 by 8.4%. In addition, Norilsk Nickel's profit increased by 15% to 142 billion rubles. And in the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), the figure was almost 7 billion against a loss of over 24 billion a year earlier.
How to stabilize the situation
The main negative consequence of the increase in losses of enterprises is the slowdown in economic development, believes Vladimir Eremkin. In this case, the investment climate worsens, innovation activity decreases, and the competitive environment becomes narrower — large companies with government support begin to play an increasingly important role.
— The massive loss-making of enterprises is fraught with a deepening industry recession, an increase in the number of debt defaults and even bankruptcies. Against this background, product quality may deteriorate and its competitiveness in both domestic and foreign markets may decrease," emphasized Natalia Milchakova from Freedom Finance Global.
At the same time, income tax receipts are falling. This is most sensitive in the regions, since the bulk of this tax is credited at the place of registration of companies, the expert explained. As a result, the authorities have fewer resources to finance national projects and social commitments, investments in infrastructure construction and repair, and the development of healthcare and education.
However, the situation can be stabilized. According to Ahmed Yusupov from Goldman Agency, lowering the key interest rate can improve the financial performance of companies, while tax revenues will not collapse. In addition, Natalia Milchakova continued, if the government helps reduce the debt of large enterprises and restore economic growth, the share of unprofitable companies will decrease.
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