Business confidence and revenue outlook improves: Australia

Almost a quarter (24 per cent) of businesses reported an increase in their monthly revenue in November compared to 16 per cent in October, according to results released from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) today.

ABS Head of Industry Statistics John Shepherd said the latest Business Impacts of COVID-19 Survey showed signs of increasing confidence among businesses.

“As well as a greater proportion of businesses experiencing an increase in their revenue in November, one quarter (25 per cent) expect revenue to increase for December. Some businesses commented that seasonal factors had influenced these expectations.”

Mr Shepherd said the survey results also included information about capital expenditure plans for the next three months.

“One in five (22 per cent) businesses indicated they have capital expenditure plans over the next three months, with about three quarters (73 per cent) of these businesses expecting to spend the same or more than what is usual for this time of year.”

“We asked businesses what had influenced their capital expenditure plans. The most common factor reported by businesses was future economic uncertainty (29 per cent), however the proportion reporting this as a factor has halved since August (59 per cent).”

/ABS Public Release. View in full here.