Business ‘good’ for half of SMEs, survey finds

Almost 50% of SMEs rate their business as being in strong shape, with almost 80% saying they have either maintained or improved profitability since the start of the year.

Gauging the mood of its members over the course of the first three months of this year, the Small Firms Association (SFA) said yesterday that 49% of firms rated their own business as either being “good” or “very good”, with just over 20% saying they hoped to increase their employee numbers before the end of this year.

Over 40% of companies rated the overall business environment as being positive at present, which was a marked increase on the 35% who felt the same way at the end of last year. SFA director, Patricia Callan said: “The survey shows that business conditions are steadily improving and points towards business and economic growth over the coming quarters,” Ms Callan said.

But she added that the weak performance in the wider European economy remained a concern.

She also noted that with nearly 7% of SMEs feeling they would reduce headcount this year, business costs and low consumer demand remained serious challenges for many Irish firms. Ms Callan urged the Government to put the small business community at the heart of policymaking; by improving SME access to public procurement contracts, reducing business costs and increasing credit availability.

“A big challenge for small firms especially those trading on the domestic market, is the fragility of the domestic economy and confidence among consumers,” she said.