Thursday, July 31, 2025
24.5 C
Lagos

Stanbic IBTC Bank Nigeria PMI: Private Sector Growth Slows in March, Remains Solid

Business conditions in Nigeria’s private sector continued to improve solidly at the end of the quarter, but the rate of growth slowed from February. Softer uplifts in output, new orders, stocks of purchases and employment were drivers of the latest moderation.

Nonetheless, growth remained elevated by historical standards and firms continued stockpiling efforts in anticipation of greater demand over the coming months. Meanwhile, sharp cost pressures persisted, with cash shortages and price hikes again apparent.

In turn, selling prices rose at one of the quickest rates in the surveys near eight-and-a-half-year history. The headline figure derived from the survey is the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI). Readings above 50.0 signal an improvement in business conditions on the previous month, while readings below 50.0 show a deterioration.

At 54.1 in March, down from 57.3 in February, the latest expansion pointed to a softer, yet solid, improvement in business conditions. Growth has now been seen in each of the last 21 months. While demand conditions were favourable in March, firms reported softer inflows of new orders. Cash shortages and surging prices were commonly associated with the moderation.

That said, the rate of expansion was still sharp. Mirroring the trend for new orders, output levels at Nigerian private sector firms expanded sharply. All four of the monitored sub-sectors recorded marked upticks. Manufacturers led the expansion, followed closely by services. Agriculture and wholesale & retail followed, respectively.

Sustained increases in output and demand led firms to raise headcounts for the fourteenth month in succession. The rate of growth was modest and broadly in line with the long-run series average. Subsequently, backlogs fell sharply. Greater competition amongst vendors led to another shortening of lead times during March.

Meanwhile, firms continued advance ordering strategies amid efforts to protect against input shortages as well as mitigate against paying higher prices. The rate of stockpiling was sharp, but softer than those seen in the previous six months. As for prices, rising wage, fuel and raw material costs continued to exert upward pressures on overall input price inflation.

In fact, the rate of increase was sharp and the fourth-strongest in the series history. Firms opted to pass on higher cost burdens by raising their selling charges at a quicker pace.

Finally, despite concerns over inflationary pressures, firms remained upbeat about their prospects for output growth over the coming year, with sentiment improving from February.

 

 

 

spot_img
spot_img
spot_img

Hot this week

Two NCDMB Leaders Bag Doctorate Degrees at UNIPORT Convocation

Two senior officials of the Nigerian Content Development and...

Sovereign Trust Insurance Reports 109% Insurance Revenue Growth in 2024

Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc recently released its 2024 audited...

NAICOM Issues Guidelines for Insurtech Operations Effective Aug 1

The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has officially issued operational...

Leadway Assurance: Official Insurance Partner of Lagos International Trade Fair 2025

L–R: Juliet Okon, Head, Alternative Channel and High Net-worth...

NNPCL: Port Harcourt Refinery Not for Sale

Group CEO, NNPC Limited, Engr. Bashir Bayo Ojulari addressing...

Topics

MTN Group Deny Reports of $22bn Stuck in Nigeria

The MTN Group has expressed concern over inaccurate media...

BREAKING NEWS! Skye Bank CEO, Top Management Resign Enmasse!

Mr. Timothy Oguntayo, Group Managing Director/CEO of Skye Bank...

Continental Re, Afro Asian Insurance Services Partner to Address Emerging Risks in Nigerian Market

  Continental Reinsurance Plc, in partnership with Afro Asian Insurance...

Insurance Sector: N2.3tr Total Assets, N726bn Premium, N318bn Claims in Q4 2022

  The insurance market data released by the National Insurance...

Nigeria: Mobile Phone Market Rose by %14, 3m Units in Qtr 3

Smartphone shipments into Nigeria increased 13.7% quarter on quarter...

ITU Telecom World 2016 to Explore Collaboration in Digital Economy

5G, collaborative regulation, the connected car, smart sustainable cities,...

British Court: Insurers Wrong to Deny COVID-19 Claims

London judges have ruled that some of the world’s...

World Bank Report: Banks Provided $28bn in Climate Finance in 2014

The leaders of the powerful G7 countries made headlines in June when they committed to a low-carbon growth path and formally recognized the need to reach zero net emissions globally before the end of the century. They know it will require shifting trillions of dollars from carbon-intensive investments to low-carbon, resilient growth, and they called on the six big multilateral development banks (MDBs) to use "to the fullest extent possible" their balance sheets and their capacity to mobilize partners to increase climate finance for developing countries.
spot_img

Related Articles

Popular Categories

spot_imgspot_img