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Company growth outlook
Central Europe CFO Survey 2021
CFOs seem more optimistic around their financial prospects and employment levels this year.
Explore Content
- Key facts
- Financial prospects
- Revenues and Operating Margins
- Operating margins
- Additional Topics Covered in this Chapter of the Report:
Key facts
- Almost half (47%) of CFOs are optimistic about financial prospects, while only 23% express pessimism.
- 35% of CFOs expect operating margins to increase, almost the same proportion predict it will stay at the same level.
- The proportion of CFOs anticipating revenues to increase in 2021 (53%) was 7pp lower than in 2020.
Financial prospects
When compared with six months ago (three months for Poland), 47% of CFOs are more optimistic regarding financial prospects for their companies. This is up 13% from our previous edition. This upwards trend is also evident when we look at EU countries and the Eurozone. In 2019, 38% of CFOs in the Eurozone told us they were optimistic regarding financial prospects for their companies. In 2020, this optimism fell to 28%, and then bounced back to 45% in 2021. There is a similar pattern of optimism among EU countries, as well.
Revenues and Operating Margins
The proportion of CFOs anticipating revenues to increase in 2021 (53%) was 7pp lower than in 2020. There is also a downwards trend in most of the industries we surveyed (except for Life Sciences and Manufacturing) with the Technology, Media, Telecommunication sector experiencing the biggest fall in net balance (from 69% in 2020 to 31% in 2021).
There is an even division between predictions for operating margins that businesses will achieve over the next 12 months. 35% of CFOs expect operating margins to increase, almost the same proportion predict it will stay at the same level and 31% anticipate it will decrease.
Additional Topics Covered in this Chapter of the Report:
- CAPEX Outlook
- Employment
- Debt Servicing
- Strategic Priorities
- Gearing Levels