The earning power of the Austrian manufacturing sector was considerably affected by the global economic crisis. According to the WIFO estimates using a dynamic panel econometric model the cash flow-to-sales ratio has declined by more than a third (from 11.2 percent in 2008 to 7.5 percent in 2009). The equity ratio in 2008 was, at 36.4 percent, within the European average. In 2009 it probably was, other than the cash flow ratio, still stable.