Revenue growth and expansionDeloitte Belgian CFO Survey Q1-2011 |
Expansionary balance sheet strategies are high on the agenda in the coming 12 months, this by means of organical expansion, by introducing new products or services, by acquisitions and by increasing capital expenditure. The focus on reducing costs, increasing cash flow and disposing of assets will even remain strong.
To a slightly less extent compared to organical expansion and the introduction of new products/services, acquisitions will also contribute to the expansion. Expectations concerning an increase in M&A activity in the coming year are again slightly picking up.
Although increasing capital expenditure is not one of the highest priorities for the CFOs, most of them do not expect a decrease over the next twelve months.
CFOs are still very optimistic about the evolution of revenues, which would support the expected organical expansion. The optimism on operating margins however, has tempered significantly. This might be partly related to the concerns about inflation and the resulting higher labour and insight costs. Only a net balance of 5% still expects an increase in operating margins, compared to 35% at the end of last year.
