Growth of new business in Ireland picks up from 41-month low
Staff Writer |
November saw rates of expansion in activity and new orders at Irish service providers rebound slightly, although they remained much weaker than seen earlier in the year.
Article continues below
Meanwhile, new export orders decreased, ending a 63-month sequence of growth. On the price front, the rate of input cost inflation slowed markedly, but output charges increased at a faster pace.
The seasonally adjusted Business Activity Index rose to 56.0 in November from 54.6 in October, signalling a slight re-acceleration in the rate of growth in business activity, after it had slipped to a 41-month low in October. Panellists indicated that the securing of new contracts had helped them to raise activity.
Companies remained confident that activity will increase over the coming year, partly linked to expectations of improving economic conditions and higher new business.
The overall level of sentiment was broadly unchanged from the previous month. As was the case with activity, the rate of growth in new orders quickened, but remained among the weakest in the past three-and-a-half years.
The increase in total new orders was recorded in spite of a drop in new export business. New business from abroad decreased for the first time in 64 months in November, albeit marginally.
According to respondents, the UK’s decision to leave the EU had been central to the decline.
With total new business continuing to rise, companies noted a build-up of backlogs of work in November. The rate of accumulation was marked, but eased slightly from October. ■
Domino’s Pizza has shuttered the last of its locations in Italy, officially ending a seven-year failed attempt to bring American fast-food pizza to the Mediterranean country from which the dish derives.