5 February 2019: The December Quarter 2018 Sensis Business Index, released today, has revealed that confidence levels among small and medium businesses (SMBs) in Western Australia (WA) has reached a five-year high, after a tough September Quarter.
The report, which measures SMB activity, expectations and confidence over a three-month period, has found that the net balance of small business confidence in WA has more than doubled since the September Quarter Report, jumping from +22 to +52, shifting WA to the third most confident state or territory in the country.
Sensis Chief Executive Officer, John Allan, said: “It’s great to see confidence lift among small and medium businesses in the West, particularly following a year of well-below average results.”
When looking at the key performance indicators for this quarter, sales rose to +2 and profitability to +9 (up from -13 in September 2018 quarter).
“According to the Deloitte Economic Outlook* for December 2018, WA’s economy has lifted out of recession to finish off the year. The Sensis Business Index highlights that small and medium businesses are beginning to feel this relief.
“This confidence seems to waiver however, when looking at SMBs expectations for the quarter ahead, with drops witnessed across all key indicators, particularly in sales (down 18 points to +14) and profitability (down 12 points to +15),” Mr Allan said.
When looking at support for the WA Government, SMB opinion was less positive than the previous quarter, falling one point to -5.
“Despite the negative balance, only 14% of businesses feel the State Government works against them, with an overwhelming 78% claiming Government policies have no impact on how they run their business. The remaining 9% feel supported.”
Those who felt supported claimed employment and training schemes as the number one driver of positivity, while those who expressed concern felt the WA Government did not understand small businesses.
“It will be interesting to watch the correlation between confidence and support for the State-Government as we embark on 2019,” Mr Allan added.
Other interesting findings from the report:
· SMBs in Perth were found to be slightly more confident than their regional counterparts, recording balances of +53 and +47 respectively.
· Support for the Federal Government declined one point among WA SMBs to a net balance of -1.
