Monday, July 7, 2025
23.5 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

MTN, 9mobile Ink National Infrastructure Partnership Deal

L-R: Abolaji Idowu, Chief Financial Officer, 9mobile; Omotola Ojutayo,...

Stanbic IBTC Holding’s N148bn Rights Issue Oversubscribed by 21.9%, Injects N140bn into Stanbic IBTC Bank

Acting Group CE Statement Commenting on the just concluded rights...

NAICOM Hands over New Licences to SanlamAllianz Life, General Insurance

The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) today handed over new...

Access Bank Highlights Leadership at Climate Governance Initiative Launch

Access Bank Plc has once again demonstrated its leadership...

Fidelity Bank Extends Relief Efforts to Eti-Osa Community with Food Bank Initiative

Henry Asiegbu, Divisional Head, Operations, Fidelity Bank Plc (Left);...

Topics

NSE Downgrades E-Tranzact from Medium to Low Stock

The Nigerian Stock Exchange (The NSE ), hereby announces...

Sub-Saharan Africa Sees International Debt Stock Reach $402.8bn 2014

At the end of 2014, the international debt of...

Book Presentation: GOCOP Seeks to Sanitise Online Journalism, Set Standards

The President of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers...

Law Union & Rock Insurance Reports N4.2bn Premium in 2017

Law Union & Rock Insurance Plc, one of the...

Mark Zuckerberg: The Future of Facebook is Telepathy

Mark Zuckerberg just dropped a big clue about Facebook's future. The social network's founder and CEO believes that one day, we'll be able to share our thoughts directly -- brain to brain --using technology. "You'll just be able to think of something and your friends will immediately be able to experience it too if you'd like," Zuckerberg said. "This would be the ultimate communication technology." He made his comments during a public Q&A session on hisFacebook (FB, Tech30) page on Tuesday afternoon. The response was addressed to a user who asked about Facebook's long-term plans. In the past decade, the company has expanded the way users communicate on the platform. First there were plain profile pages. Next came comments, and then the Wall, Likes, Groups and News Feed.

Alternative Bank, Niger State to Set Record with Africa’s Single Largest EV Fleet

In a landmark deal, Nigeria’s largest ethical banking institution,...

CIIN Holds 52nd AGM Tomorrow in Lagos

The 52nd Annual General Meeting of the Chartered Insurance...

Interswitch Assures Customers of Continuous Dispute Management Activities During COVID-19 Lock-down

  Interswitch, a leading integrated digital payments and commerce company,...
spot_img

Related Articles

Popular Categories

spot_imgspot_img