Cork businesses concerned about energy price costs

CORK Chamber has published its latest Economic Trends which reveals that 92% of businesses are concerned or very concerned about rising energy costs.

Cork Chamber members shared their experiences through the most recent business quarter Q3 2022, their outlook for the fourth quarter of 2022 and views on the impact of inflation, rising energy prices, and measures to combat current challenges.

The Q3 survey found that 92% of businesses are concerned or very concerned about energy costs; 24% have identified energy efficiency as a priority business action to combat rising prices, while 20% will prioritise reducing overheads.

85% of businesses reported confidence in their individual business, while 51% of businesses are now not confident in the Irish economy heading into Q4 2022, and 31% cite inflation as the number one reason for diminishing confidence in the Irish economy.

Despite the impact of rising energy prices on their operations, only 9% of businesses plan to cut staff in response to the crisis.

In terms of priority actions to combat rising prices, most are focused on increasing energy efficiency (24%), cutting overheads (20%), or improving productivity (18%) with only 5% citing a reduction in headcount as a priority according to the Q3 2022 survey.

However, inflation and the energy crisis are impacting confidence in the Irish economy with a marked fall in confidence — for the first time in 2022 a majority of businesses are now not confident in the Irish economy (51%).

Business confidence still high

Commenting on the findings, President of Cork Chamber, Ronan Murray, said: “There is still a high level of business confidence among the Cork business community (85%) despite the fall in confidence in the wider economy. Changing consumer spending, the rising cost of energy, and raw materials and competitiveness have now become the top threats to business growth. The fact that businesses are looking to drive efficiencies and higher productivity rather than reduce headcount is encouraging.”

Mr Murray said that this quarter’s findings share a picture of member companies’ resilience, with companies adapting to the new environment to combat the real challenges they are facing.

“Almost a quarter of those surveyed report energy efficiency measures as a priority action to combat rising prices. This makes good business sense across the board — cost savings were the main motivating factor for companies, but closely followed by climate and sustainability impact.”