Share of company debt with ICR less than one globally 2019-2021, by sector

The share of global companies with interest coverage ratio of less than one has increased immensely in almost every sector since the beginning of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. In the accomodation and food industry, almost 21 percent of companies worldwide had the ICR ratio of less than one before the coronavirus pandemic. In 2021, the share of companies hardly able to pay interests on their debt increased to over 88 percent.The ICR (interest coverage ratio) is a financial indicator showing how well a company can pay interests on outstanding debt from their earnings. The higher the indicator, the better the company is rated by the investors or lenders. The minimum acceptable ratio is around 1.5 to two. Below this level, a company is regarded as financially unstable.

自新冠病毒（COVID-19）疫情爆发以来，全球众多行业中小于一倍利息保障倍数（ICR）比率的企业的比例显著上升。在住宿与餐饮业，全球范围内，在冠状病毒疫情爆发前，约有21%的企业其ICR比率低于一倍。至2021年，无力偿付债务利息的企业比例升至超过88%。利息保障倍数（ICR）是衡量企业盈利偿还现有债务利息能力的财务指标。该指标越高，企业越受投资者或贷方的青睐。可接受的最小比率约为1.5至2倍。低于此水平，企业被视为财务不稳定。