About one half of executives (51 percent) in a new study by Deloitte see better financial prospects for Russian companies in the near future, NewRetail.ru reports.
Participants were asked to evaluate business prospects regarding the development of companies in Russia in comparison to six months ago. The study is based upon interviews with financial directors of leading Russian companies, held in September and October 2019.
“Today, most business representatives (51 percent) expect optimistic changes in the current financial situation of their company, which contrasts against the high number of neutral assessments in the first half of 2019 (the share of respondents who did not foresee any significant changes was 51 percent), indicating that companies have dealt with many difficulties and are now focused on positive improvements,” the study’s authors say.
While respondents predicted that operating costs would increase, business representatives expect to see an increase in the growth rate of income and operating profits, and a general decrease in capital cost growth. Transport and pharmaceutical companies have the most positive outlook, as more than 60 percent of respondent in these sectors expect business to improve.
The banking sector is the most pessimistic, as 36 percent of respondents in this sector expect negative changes in the coming months.
Small and middle-sized enterprises (defined as companies with revenues below $31.4 million) have the most positive outlook, with 73 percent of these firms expecting business prospects to improve. The second-most positive group is Russia’s largest firms, defined as companies with annual revenues exceeding $784 million. 56% of respondents belonging to this group believe that business will improve in the near future.
