Irish SMEs are demonstrating a strong ability to weather the current storm with improving levels of activity, increasing operational profits and a positive outlook for the rest of the year.
Euro zone inflation rate hit a new record high of 9.1% in August and SMEs in Ireland are looking to recover their higher input costs by increasing prices, with only one in three of SMEs reporting lower profits.The survey also found that 82% of businesses felt they performed better or line with expectations in the first half of the year: 44% cited performance better or much better than expected, 38% the same, and just 18% of SMEs say performance is worse than expected.
Similar to previous results, the latest index findings suggest recovery is coming slower to micro-SMEs . The Retail and Wholesale sector has been slowest to recover, with just 31% of businesses reporting stronger performance in Q2. Retailers also appear to be trying the hardest to recover higher input costs, with 64% increasing prices in the quarter versus 42% for all businesses.