By the end of the third wave of the pandemic, K&H said the share of big companies reporting serious losses declined from 18pc to 11.

Around 14% of big companies said the recent period had affected their businesses favorably. That ratio was even higher, at 26%, for companies with annual turnover above HUF 10 bln.

The commercial sector was least impacted by the changed circumstances, according to K&H's research, while one-fourth to one-third of service sector companies experienced difficulties.

K&H used a survey of 200 companies, none of them state-owned, conducted by Impetus Research in March for its research.