Almost 9000 New Zealand firms had their risk ratings downgraded during the first quarter of 2010, according to research of 20,000 companies by credit reporting agency Dun & Bradstreet.
But more than 10,500 businesses received a rating upgrade in the same period, placing them in a stronger position to take
advantage of the economic recovery, the research said.
Dun & Bradstreet holds 150 million company records worldwide, with 2.8 million of those across Australasia.
John Scott, general manager of Dun & Bradstreet, said the 20,000 firms were assessed on two risk ratings - a dynamic delinquency score and a financial distress score.
The downgrade meant those 9000 firms would be classified as having a higher risk of financial distress over the next 12 months, he said.
Recently established and smaller firms made up the majority of credit downgrades in the research.
Scott said younger, smaller firms typically did not have the experience and resources to fall back on in times of economic distress.
"They perhaps haven't had a lot of exposure to recession - this could well be the first recession they're going through," he said.
Scott said low interest rates and Government stimulus had encouraged households to spend.
"However, this silver lining is disappearing - interest rates are expected to begin rising in the near future and the Government is winding back the stimulus."
New Zealand companies needed to make sure businesses they dealt with were trading profitably, he said.
Scott said the survey showed the New Zealand business environment was in flux, with some firms in position to take advantage of the recovery.
