Canterbury businesses are maintaining a forward focus despite global uncertainty, according to Business Canterbury’s latest Quarterly Business Confidence Survey released today.
The survey, which closed in early June, shows that while confidence has softened following recent conflict in the Middle East, the pullback has been modest from what was a very optimistic business community in the February survey.
Business Canterbury Chief Executive Leeann Watson says, “The results reflect a business community that is realistic about the challenges ahead, but far from retreating.”
Confidence in navigating further disruption remains strong, with around 80 percent of businesses saying they are confident in their ability to manage future shocks, something Watson suggests may be a defining feature of the Canterbury business community.
Just over half of businesses still expect a stronger Canterbury economy over the next 12 months, although confidence drops to less than a third when looking at the wider New Zealand economy. At the same time, 60 percent of businesses expect stronger financial performance in the coming year, and around 70 percent anticipate the impact of Middle East tensions to be contained within a 10 percent range of expected profitability for the current financial year.
Intentions around hiring and investment have softened only slightly, with a small decline in businesses planning to hire more staff or invest in property and plant over the next 12 months.
“This survey is pretty clear evidence that despite what is going on in the world, businesses are continuing to invest, continuing to plan, and continuing to look for opportunities.
“The next few months will be critical, with some impacts of global uncertainty yet to fully flow through, so businesses will be watching closely to see how things unfold, particularly when it comes to supply chain costs, disruption, interest rates and consumer confidence.”
