Caution on the profitability of the branded industry. According to the Centromarca Conjunctural Observatory created by Ref Ricerche on a sample of top managers of associated companies, only 23% expect an increase in profits and half of them will be stable compared to 2022. This sentiment is the direct consequence of pressure on production costs and energy which in 2022 led 6% of the associated industries to produce at a loss and 43% to record reduced profits, by more than 10% in 22% of cases. The dynamics of prices recorded in recent months is due to the need to pass on the extra costs incurred downstream. New tensions on production costs could create difficulties for companies, also in light of the fact that recourse to credit is more onerous due to the increase in interest rates. Among the positive notes, the survey does not highlight liquidity problems, considered adequate for the needs of the current activity by 75% of companies. Among other things, the Centromarca Observatory, which is associated with about 200 large companies that produce packaged consumer goods with a turnover of 58 billion euros, an added value of 11 billion euros and directly employ almost 100,000 workers , confirms the weak trend in the dynamics of consumption in the first months of 2023. From the comparison with the same period of 2022, the percentage of those reporting a decline in sales grows from 21% to 34%, while it decreases (from 53% to 41% %) the stock of companies that record an increase. Inventories remain “normal” for 67% of companies, “too high” for 16% and “too low” for 17%.
The prospects appear cautiously positive: the percentage of the sample who believes that an increase in sales is probable in the next six months goes from 17% to 36% and that of those who consider a reduction possible from 39% to 28%. For 96% of those interviewed, employment levels should remain stable. Energy prices remain under close observation: 84% of the sample states that the most intense phase of tensions has been overcome, but considers that costs will settle at higher levels than those prevailing before the conflict in Ukraine. Centromarca positively evaluates the Government’s decision to cut the contributions paid by employees with medium-low incomes, for a value of over three billion euros for the period May – December 2023. «It is a contribution to support purchasing power – underlines Vittorio Cino, general manager of Centromarca -. And it is a further response to the requests made by industrial and distribution companies in a phase of particularly weak demand. We now hope that other interventions in support of families and businesses will materialize. For example, the cut in the tax burden and the launch of measures that favor investments and the dimensional growth of companies».