Economic growth estimates edged up, with managers expecting an average 1.5% GDP increase this year, above last year’s 1.2%, but way below the forecasts of international institutions such as the European Commission and the World Bank.
Nevertheless, Romanian managers are more upbeat that their peers in Central Europe, who expect an average 1.1% economic growth in 2024.
“More than half of Romania CFOs are feeling a high uncertainty degree generated by external factors and hence are rather cautious, with 84% of respondents considering now is not a good time to take on additional risks that can harm their balance sheets. While two thirds of them are upbeat about income growth, their answers indicats a preference for strengthening the cost management area to be able to keep companies financially sound,” stated Zeno Caprariu, Audit Partner at Deloitte Romania.
Most CFOs in Romania participating in the survey expect inflation to rise further this year, but their expectations have weakened significantly from the previous year, from 11.2% to 6.75%, though they are still higher than BNR’s latest projections.
Most believe cost increases will continue to weigh on companies in 2024.
As regards unemployment, companies in Romania are also quite optimistic, with almost half of respondents believing the indicator will remain stable in 2024.
Toughening regulation framework is the biggest risk for companies in Romania, believe 64% of respondents, double the 2022 weight. The other risk factors are the lack of employees with needed skills (46%, significantly down from 63% last year), decline of internal demand (42%) and of external demand (34%), as well as geopolitical risks.
As these risk factors create a high uncertainty environment, cost cutting is a priority for a third of companies this year. The other areas of strategic interest for Romania CFOs are organic growth (21%), digitalization (9%) and expansion on existing markets (8%).
(English version by Catalina Apostoiu)