Overview

FORECAST OF BUSINESS PERFORMANCE FOR THE FOURTH QUARTER 2024

Malaysian businesses anticipate a promising business environment in the fourth quarter of 2024, with a positive confidence indicator of +4.8 per cent, the highest since the second quarter of 2022 (Exhibit I).

Across all sectors surveyed, Services, Wholesale and Retail Trade as well as Industry sectors remain optimistic about their future business condition. The confidence indicator for Services sector posts an improvement with +13.1 per cent in the fourth quarter 2024 from +8.3 per cent in the previous quarter. Similarly, sentiment within the Wholesale and Retail trade sector continues positive in the fourth quarter 2024 with +5.5 per cent as compared to +1.4 per cent in the last quarter. The Industry sector also expects a favourable business conditions in the fourth quarter of 2024, as the confidence indicator posts +1.2 per cent. Meanwhile, businesses in the Construction sector turn pessimistic with a confidence indicator of -10.0 per cent in the reference quarter as against +2.2 per cent in the third quarter of 2024 (Exhibit II).

Expectations of Gross Revenue and Number of Employees

A total of 32.7 per cent of respondents expect their gross revenue to rise in the fourth quarter of 2024, while 29.1 per cent expect it to drop, resulting in a net balance of +3.6 per cent. Also, 38.2 per cent of respondents predict a standstill in their gross revenue.

In terms of employment, 74.4 per cent of businesses are expecting to retain their staff throughout the fourth quarter of 2024. Approximately 16.1 per cent of respondents anticipate to hire more, while 9.5 per cent expect to reduce their personnel, resulting in a net balance of +6.6 per cent for the reference quarter (Exhibit III). 

EXPECTATIONS OF BUSINESS PERFORMANCE IN OCTOBER 2024 TO MARCH 2025

Looking ahead, business expectation for the term of October 2024 until March 2025 remains convincing with a net balance of +13.8 per cent as against +23.5 per cent recorded previously. All sectors anticipate brighter business perspectives for the upcoming six months. Sentiments among the Services sector remain positive with a net balance of +27.5 per cent for the same period as compared to +30.8 per cent recorded in the last quarter. The Wholesale and Retail Trade sector also foresees an optimistic business outlook with a net balance of +16.7 per cent from +10.6 per cent for the period of October 2024 until March 2025. Concurrently, the Construction sector anticipates a favourable business condition with a net balance of +16.0 per cent as against +21.7 per cent previously. Industry sector likewise foresee a better business outlook, with a net balance of +4.3 per cent for the period of October 2024 to March 2025 (Exhibit IV).

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Baharudin Mohamad

Public Relation Officer

Email: baharudin[at]dosm.gov.my

Phone: 03 8885 7942

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