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European CFO Survey with Portugal insights Q3 2017
Stronger optimism
Welcome to the 5th edition of CFO Survey Portugal. This biannual study collects the results of surveys run to the largest companies’ CFOs in Portugal, comprising a panel of more than 1500 CFOs from 19 European countries: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Italy, Norway, Poland, Portugal, UK, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland and Türkiye. In this edition for the Q3 2017, we list the economic, financial and strategy expectations of the CFOs operating in Portugal, in comparison with previous periods and their European peers.
Key Findings
- The CFOs operating in Portugal revealed a very positive feeling about the Portuguese economic context, with 95% of respondents predicting an improvement in the Portuguese economy next year
- Likewise, CFOs also predict positive developments in their companies (62% of respondents are optimistic about the financial outlook for their companies)
- A greater number of CFOs (35%) are willing to take a higher risk in their balance sheet compared to 6 months ago (20%) and one year ago (13%) which, together with a greater propensity to invest in strategies to introduce new products / services and organic growth, reveals a less defensive stance of CFOs operating in Portugal
- Despite optimism, CFOs continue to point the domestic public policies as the main risk factor for their business (70%) and cost control as the main strategy to adopt next year (97%).
- About half of the CFOs surveyed expect an increase in interest rates in the next 12 months, while 45% believe it will remain unchanged (a result aligned with the European average)
