The Hindu Business Line : India Inc to hold price line: Survey

Respondents say
70% indicate rising input costs as area of concern.
53% expect higher to much higher profits (58% last quarter).
46 % expect higher to much higher exports (51% last quarter).
Almost 39% concerned with high cost of credit (29% last quarter).

Advertisement

New Delhi Feb. 11 Even with soaring inflation in the last few weeks, 66 per cent of the respondents to a survey conducted by industry chamber FICCI expect to keep their selling price in the future at the present level.

Moreover, the share of respondents expecting to increase the selling price has reduced with only 20 per cent reporting higher selling prices in the Business Confidence Survey for the third quarter of the current fiscal, compared to over 25 per cent reporting higher selling prices in a similar survey in the previous quarter.

However, rising input prices remain a key constraint for corporate India, with 70 per cent of the respondents indicating rising input costs as an area of concern.

On the sales front, 78 per cent expect higher to much higher sales, just as in the last quarter.

See higher profits

Fifty three per cent expect higher to much higher profits as against 58 per cent last quarter. Forty six per cent expect higher to much higher exports, down from 51 per cent last quarter.

On the investments front, 45 per cent expect higher to much higher investment as against 54 per cent last quarter. Thirty two per cent expect higher to much higher employment compared to 36 per cent last quarter.

The overall business confidence index computed in the recent survey stood at 75.0, escalating from 72.1 in the previous quarter.

The other area of concern revealed in the survey was cost of credit. Almost 39 per cent of the respondents reported high cost of credit as an issue of concern in this quarter, over 29 per cent in the previous survey.

The chamber drew responses from 320 companies that had turnovers ranging from Rs 2 crore to Rs 89,000 crore.

The sectors covered were pharmaceuticals, textiles, telecom, food and beverages, heavy equipment and machinery, financial services and metal, among others.

More Stories on : Economy | Industry Associations

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page