 "Business confidence improves in Q1 2014: Survey")
Business optimism saw a significant rise in the first quarter of 2014 mainly on sales volume, net profit and new orders on the hope of better political stability, a Dun & Bradstreet report said.
The D&B Composite Business Optimism Index for Q1 2014 recorded a significant increase of 16.6%.
"In fact, optimism in three segments, namely volume of sales, net profit and new orders, stands at an 11-quarter high for the period Jan-Mar 2014. Hopes of greater political stability and accompanying certainty on the policy front could be partly responsible for the trigger in business sentiment," Dun & Bradstreet President and CEO, India, Kaushal Sampat said in a release issued here.
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"Concerns regarding the size of the current account deficit as well as its financing have eased, while hopes of a recovery in the investment cycle have gathered strength with the Cabinet Committee on Investment facilitating a substantial number of clearances for large projects," Sampat said.
Installation of a stable government after the elections combined with policy moves to de-bottleneck large projects will help to counterbalance any possible impact from the Fed's decision to taper its monetary stimulus, he added.
A significant majority of the respondents expect volume of sales to increase by 83% in Q1 2014, while 5% anticipate the sales volume to decline and the remaining 12% expect volume of sales to remain unchanged.
The report found that around 78% of the respondents expect an increase in profits during Q1 2014, while 17% indicated they expect no change in net profits and 5% expect their net profits to decline.