More than half of the professionals surveyed for the FNB/BER Civil Confidence Index Q3 2024 are ‘satisfied’ with prevailing business conditions – an eight-year high.
While sentiment increased, the momentum of activity has eased, albeit still above the long-term average says Siphamandla Mkhwanazi, Senior Economist at FNB.
“Respondents have been upbeat about work for the last few quarters so the softer activity reading this quarter comes off a high base and is therefore not entirely indicative of a weaker environment, especially when considering sentiment. However, this contrasts with the very downbeat outcome for investment in construction works published by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) for 2Q2024.”
Despite somewhat lower activity, overall profitability improved significantly, lifting confidence.
“Firm profit margins seem to be increasing. This, again, reflects a sector that is faring reasonably well.”
In terms of the outlook the picture is mixed. Order books deteriorated, but are merely back to the level recorded at the start of 2024 with professionals anticipating better activity (and employment) next quarter.
