CHIEF FINANCIAL officers in major Irish companies now expect a rebound in fortunes later this year, according to a new survey.
The Deloitte CFO survey for the second quarter of the year found 65 per cent of respondents felt their companies would return to growth this year. This represents a doubling on the 32 per cent who responded similarly in the survey in the first quarter of this year.
A similar number, 65 per cent, felt their companies’ profits would increase over the following six months, compared with 42 per cent in the Q1 survey.
Many of the companies concerned are involved in exports. Most respondents (66 per cent) did not expect to see a significant macroeconomic recovery in Ireland generally until 2011. Sixty-three per cent believed the Iseq has bottomed out and that it will increase over the coming year.
On the National Asset Management Agency and the availability of credit, about three quarters of respondents (77 per cent) felt new credit was harder to get from national banks compared to six months ago. This was an increase on the Q1 result (65 per cent).
The survey also found respondents expected the supply of credit, if not the cost, to improve in 2011.
It found 66 per cent of CFOs felt Nama would improve credit availability to business.
In his latest economic commentary for National Irish Bank, economist Dr Ronnie O’Toole said non-national workers had borne the brunt of the recession. Their employment has fallen 30 per cent over two years, compared to 9 per cent for Irish workers. “This is not, as is commonly believed, because non-nationals were concentrated in industries which have contracted the most, such as construction. Rather, in every economic sector, the loss of jobs by non-nationals has been much more severe than for the Irish,” he said.
