Companies very cautiously optimistic about 2010

2010-02-28



In 2009 Polish companies achieved financial results that were fairly strong given the realities of the downturn, but their expectations about 2010 are very guardedly optimistic, according to a survey by the Polish Confederation of Private Employers (PKPP) Lewiatan.
Thirty-five percent of the surveyed companies enjoyed a rise in revenues last year (by an average of 16.5%), against 46% which suffered a decline. Small and medium-sized firms in general did better than big companies, and so did firms with no exposure to foreign markets as compared with exporters and importers. In terms of sectors, the best results were achieved in warehousing & communication. At the same time, net profits improved at big companies but declined at small and medium-sized firms, a reflection of deeper restructuring efforts and job cuts at larger enterprises. Again, domestically-oriented firms did better. All the surveyed companies from the warehousing & communication sector reported a rise in profits in 2009, while in most other industries there was a polarisation between a sizeable minority (over 30%) of firms which grew their profits in 2009 and a majority of companies reporting a decline.
With respect to outlook, 48% of companies expect their revenues to rise in 2010 (by an average of 17%), 34% predict flat sales and 15% anticipate a decline (by an average of 16%), with the average predicted rate of growth of their industry at 6%. This level of expectations is significantly lower that at the end of the previous downturn in 2002, PKPP said. Above-average expectations regarding sales growth were noted among small and large companies, exporters and importers, business service providers, manufacturers and trading companies. At the same time, the surveyed firms remained highly cautious about adding new jobs, but less so about raising salaries, reflecting heightened focus on the quality of human capital, PKPP commented.
The survey was conducted between 27 January and 2 February on a random sample of 400 companies, which was then weighted to be representative of companies in Poland in terms of size and sector.