Mar. 2018
Survey of Corporate Attitudes Towards Performance Outlook for 2018
29.3% of companies anticipate “increase in income and profit” for 2018
— Companies evaluate Abenomics at 62.4 points, 0.7 points down from a year ago —
Introduction
The domestic economy has been expanding because of export expansion as a result of the recovery of world economy and an increase in capital investment, etc. However, a serious labor shortage and increasing cost burden, such as a raw material price hike, are of concern for inhibiting economic growth, while the effect that business trends have on performance varies depending on region, industry, and size.
Teikoku Databank has conducted a survey of corporate attitudes towards the performance outlook for 2018. This survey was conducted in conjunction with the March 2018 TDB Trends Research.
*Survey period: March 16 – March 31, 2018, Companies Surveyed: 23,137, Valid Responses: 10,094 (Response Rate: 43.6%).
The survey for the performance outlook has been conducted every year since March 2009, and this is the tenth survey.
*Details of this survey can be found on the dedicated Economic Trend Survey HP. (http://www.tdb-di.com).
Primary points of survey results(summary)
- 1 29.3% of companies anticipate “increase in income and profit” in the performance outlook for 2018. This increased for the second consecutive year, and to a level close to that of the 2014 outlook (30.5%), which was a record high, while those anticipating a “decrease in income and profit” fell by 1.0 point. The gap between large companies and SMEs in terms of “increase in income and profit” is widening. Recovery in corporate performance in 2018 is expected to be mainly in large companies.
- 2 With respect to downside factors in the performance outlook for 2018, “serious labor shortage” at 39.3% ranked top, followed by “further downturn in consumer spending,” and “trends in crude oil and material prices.” This suggests that companies are strongly concerned about securing and retaining their labor force in the context of a labor shortage in a tight labor market. Conversely, “recovery in consumer spending” was ranked top among upside factors, at 33.0%, for the seventh year in a row, followed by “increase in public works” and “increase in income.”
- 3 Companies evaluate the achievements of the economic policies of the Abe Administration (Abenomics) at 62.4 out of 100 points. Although companies generally gave an evaluation of more than 60 points for Abenomics over the last five years, SMEs continue to view Abenomics more harshly, and the level of evaluation by companies has fallen from a year ago.