February 20, 2023
According to a survey conducted by The Malta Chamber of SMEs, 75% of businesses claimed they were either as profitable as they were last year or even more so.
237 people responded to the Business Performance Survey 2022 SME Barometer. The SME Barometer, which was established in partnership with MISCO, an independent consulting company, offers quarterly surveys that highlight societal trends using information gathered from small and medium-sized businesses.
While 25% of respondents reported lower profitability than the previous year, 36% reported the same and 39% reported higher profitability.
In response to a different survey query, the majority of SMEs (60%) reported an increase in total turnover compared to the prior year (2021), while 22% reported a constant turnover and 16% reported a negative turnover.
The bulk of respondents (28%) cited the removal of Covid restrictions as the primary factor for the rise in sales. More stability was reported by 18% of respondents, and a rise in consumer confidence by 16%. The remainder emphasized a number of additional factors.
In comparison, the majority of respondents (23%) attributed the drop in sales to declining purchasing power, inflation (13%), and a rise in prices (10%). There were also a lot of other explanations offered. For instance, 8% of respondents claimed that the pandemic’s effects played a role, and another 6% worried that the war in Ukraine also contributed to the decline in sales.
A sizable portion of businesses (39%) claimed that their current performance is better than in 2019, 15% claimed that it is equal, and 17% said that it is near to pre-pandemic levels.
A third or so of respondents claimed that their fiscal conditions were worse than in 2019.
In response to this last statistic, Misco’s founding partner Lawrence Zammit said, “We need to understand that there is constant restructuring” in a developing economy, indicating that businesses that adapt will succeed while those that do not will fall behind.
The questionnaire also invited respondents to share their hopes and expectations for 2023 as a whole. 39% of respondents predicted that this year would be better than the previous one, 43% predicted that it would be the same, and 18% predicted that it would be worse.
The top three responses to what they anticipated would be their company’s biggest challenge in the upcoming year were (14%) rising expenses, (12%) rising wage costs, and (9%) a labor shortage.
The primary goal of the SME Chamber, according to President Paul Abela, is to discuss issues and have an influence on legislative decisions. The three main issues he raised were the need to upskill workers just entering the workforce, the disproportionate costs banking was increasingly having on SMEs, and the need for more effective regulations to guarantee a more favorable business environment.
Source: Malta Business Weekly
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