Entrepreneurs in medium-sized enterprises (SME) are more positive about 2018 than owners of smaller and larger companies. They have higher expectations of sales, exports and employee strength, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) this Friday in a report with results from the Netherlands Business Survey on the fourth quarter.
A stable, almost 36% of SMEs expect an increase in turnover in 2018, compared to 25% in small businesses and 32% in large companies. Exporters and SMEs are also more positive about exports and staffing levels than in small and large companies. In the area of investments, especially entrepreneurs from the retail trade and construction sectors are expecting slightly more growth in 2018.
Construction
Out of all sectors, the construction sector is the most positive for the fifth quarter in a row, despite the decline compared to the third quarter. Then business confidence in the construction was 33.5 points. At the beginning of the fourth quarter the indicator is 10 points lower at 23.6. The decrease is mainly due to a less positive development of the realized production in recent months.
Wholesale
The wholesaler has the least confidence with a decrease of more than 10 points. In the third quarter the indicator stood at 30.2 and at the beginning of the fourth quarter at 19.9. Business confidence also decreases in commercial services. The biggest decline is expected in the hospitality industry. The indicator dropped from 21.5 to 13. Business confidence in this sector was at a historically high level in the second and third quarters. The transport and storage sector is an exception. In this sector, confidence is slightly larger than in the third quarter.
Growth
On balance, 30% of entrepreneurs expect to achieve more turnover next year than in 2017, partly due to an expected increase in the number of purchase orders. Furthermore, entrepreneurs see the expected developments in business operations positively. Almost 18% expect a growth of the workforce. And in 2018, investment expenditure is expected to increase by 10% on balance.
Trust
Despite the positive outlook, this does not benefit business confidence in all sectors. With a score of 13.4, this is actually lower than in the third quarter. This puts an end to a series of increases in the past four quarters. The indicator fell by 2.5 points compared to the previous quarter, which then reached the highest level since the start of the measurement in 2008. But despite the decline in business confidence, the indicator is still at a higher level than at the end of last year.
Translated by Maybeline Whitter
Source: https://www.nu.nl/ondernemen/5010221/ondernemers-middenbedrijf-positiever-2018-dan-andere-ondernemers.html