Some 83 per cent of Dublin Chamber members surveyed said the expected their operating costs to increase between July and September.“Dramatic” increases in energy costs took a significant chunk out of business confidence in the capital between April and June with companies bracing for higher operating costs and reduced profits over the summer months.
Based on a sample of 150 businesses, the chamber’s latest business outlook survey reveals that companies were decidedly more pessimistic about their cost and profit expectations in the second quarter of the year compared to the previous three-month period. At the same time, some 83 per cent of chamber members surveyed said the expected their operating costs to increase between July and September. Consequently, the number of respondents who expect their profits to rise over the same period declined to 31 per cent, “sharply down” from almost half in the first quarter, Dublin Chamber said.
Nearly 60 per cent of respondents said their energy bills had increased by up to 20 per cent over the past 12 months while a quarter said their bills had gone up by between 20 and 40 per cent over the same period.