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Four In Ten Maltese Businesses Saw 25% Drop In Sales During Pandemic, But Many Are Confident Of The Future

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Four in every ten Maltese businesses reported a 25% or more drop in revenue during the COVID-19 pandemic, but many remain optimistic of the future, a confidence index by the Malta Chamber of Commerce and Vistage Malta has revealed.

According to the report, around 32% of businesses reported a drop of greater than 25%. Still, 26% saw either an increase or no change in revenue.

Looking ahead, 49% of survey respondents expect revenues to increase in the year ahead, while 14% expect revenues to decline.

The economic impacts and uncertainty caused by the pandemic have taken their toll, but as vaccine distribution accelerates, businesses believe that the situation could improve in the year ahead. 

Unsurprisingly, around 80% of respondents felt that their overall economic position has worsened when compared to pre-pandemic levels. However, close to 70% believed their situation would either improve or remain stable, while 70% also said that they would keep their current staff and in some cases, even expand their workforce.

Despite a surge in teleworking when the pandemic hit the islands, around 45% of businesses have seen most of their workforce return to the office. Around 22% of respondents had said they did not implement a teleworking system.

The survey uncovered that over 20% of businesses are still employing teleworking, with most uncertain when they return to the office.

President Perit David Xuereb said that the Malta Chamber’s drive to play a leadership role in the country’s economic growth did not stop at proposing policy in favour of business. The President explained how the Chamber also aspired to provide businesses with the necessary tools to predict economic trends and derive insights that aid decision making. 

“The Confidence Index provides the concrete sentiments of the country’s business leaders and how they feel their business interests will be fairing in the coming months,” President Perit David Xuereb said.

A webinar that will discuss the results further will be held on the 23rd of February at 17:00.

What do you think of the results? Comment below

 

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Julian is the former editor of Lovin Malta and has a particular interest in politics, the environment, social issues, and human interest stories.

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