The Dutch industry experienced a notable 4.1% rise in revenue during the first quarter of 2023 compared to the same period last year. While this growth rate is lower than in previous quarters over the past two years, industrial producers are expressing more positive expectations for the upcoming quarter. According to recent data released by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), industrial producers anticipate a higher revenue performance in the second quarter of 2023.
Both domestic and foreign revenue for industrial producers witnessed an increase in the first quarter, with a respective growth of 6.0% and 2.9% compared to the previous year. Furthermore, the prices of both domestic and foreign sales observed an upward trend, with a 7.7% and 6.6% rise, respectively.
The industry has witnessed a surge in the number of declared bankruptcies, raising concerns. In the first quarter of 2023, there were 80 bankruptcy declarations, nearly three times the amount recorded in the same period in 2022.
Various sectors within the industry experienced differing revenue performances. The food and beverage industry showed substantial growth with a 20.3% increase, outperforming other branches. However, some sectors experienced a decline in revenue compared to the first quarter of the previous year, particularly refineries and chemical companies (-8.6%) and the metal industry (-3.2%). Interestingly, the aforementioned sectors saw a rise in prices, with refineries and chemical companies observing a 0.6% increase, and the metal industry experiencing a 4.9% price hike.
The beverage industry witnessed a significant revenue increase of 21.7%, while the food industry followed closely with a 20.6% rise. Both sectors also saw an increase in prices, with the beverage industry observing a 14.4% surge and the food industry experiencing a 15.4% price increase.
The wood and construction materials industry had the highest price increase at 15.5%, while refineries and chemical companies witnessed the smallest price increase at 0.6%.
Looking ahead, industry entrepreneurs have demonstrated less optimism regarding revenue expectations for the second quarter of 2023. A net 15% of entrepreneurs anticipate an increase in revenue, a decrease from the 25% recorded in the same quarter of the previous year. Similarly, a net 12% of entrepreneurs in the industry expect selling prices to rise in the next three months, significantly lower than the 53% recorded in the same period last year.