There are 52,202 active companies in Ukraine that have filed annual financial statements showing zero revenue—or no revenue at all—for at least two consecutive years. Meanwhile, about 4,600 companies have been reporting this way for five consecutive years. Most often, these are companies in the wholesale trade, real estate, and construction sectors. This is reported by Dengi.ua, citing data from Opendatabot.
Where Are Most Companies With No Income?
Kyiv leads in the number of businesses that have reported zero or undisclosed revenue for years. There are 15,078 such companies registered in the capital - nearly 29% of the total.
In other regions, the figures are significantly lower:
- Dnipropetrovsk Region - 3,998 companies (8%);
- Kharkiv Region - 3,663 (7%);
- Odesa Region - 3,471 (7%).
At the same time, a quarter of the companies in the study group have filed such reports for three consecutive years. And one in eleven has not reported any revenue for five years. It turns out that for thousands of businesses, financial reports have remained virtually unchanged for years.
Which Businesses Have Not Reported Revenue for Years
The most common sector for such companies is wholesale trade. This category includes 9,894 businesses—that is, nearly one in five.
Also among companies with zero or blank revenue figures are:
- real estate - 5,523 companies (11%);
- construction - 4,279 (8%);
- agriculture - 3,426 (7%).
In terms of legal structure, limited liability companies (LLCs) predominate—42,383 companies, or 81% of the total. Another 7,673 enterprises (15%) are registered as private enterprises, and 1,691 (3%) as farms. The remainder are joint-stock companies and other business forms.
Why Companies Don’t Close Even If They Aren’t Making a Profit
Zero figures in financial statements do not necessarily mean that a company has actually ceased operations. Some companies may have temporarily suspended operations due to a full-scale war, the loss of production capacity, employees, or sales markets.
There is another reason why businesses remain on the registry for years without generating any revenue, explains Denys Popov, head of the legal department at Opendatabot.
“One reason companies remain registered for years without generating revenue is the complex procedure involved in closing them down. To officially wind down a business, one must settle obligations to creditors and the government and follow established procedures, which requires time and resources. Therefore, it is sometimes easier for owners to leave the company inactive than to liquidate it. At the same time, zero revenue does not always mean that the business has actually ceased operations. Some companies may have temporarily suspended operations due to a full-scale war, the loss of production capacity, employees, or sales markets,” explains Denys Popov.
It is important to note that the analysis covers active commercial companies of specific legal forms that have filed annual financial statements with zero or undisclosed revenue for at least the last two consecutive years. Nonprofit organizations were not included in the study.
Thus, the presence of zero revenue in financial statements does not in itself indicate violations or that the business is fictitious. Such figures may reflect either a prolonged suspension of operations or the owners’ reluctance to undergo the complex liquidation process.
