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For the period from April to September 2019 the net percentage of euro area small and medium-sized enterprises’ (SMEs) turnover remained broadly stable at robust levels (20%, down from 21% for the previous period). For the first time since mid-2016, euro area SMEs reported a deterioration in profits in net terms (-1%, down from 0%), as SMEs continued to report growing labour costs (50%, down from 52%), increases in other costs (i.e. material and energy) (53%, down from 57%), and rising interest expenses (1%, down from 5%).
Lack of availability of skilled labour continued to be the dominant concern for euro area SMEs (28%, up from 25%), followed by the difficulty of finding customers (22%, down from 23%).
Access to finance remained the least important concern (7%, down from 8%). In net terms, SMEs continued to indicate improved availability of bank loans (10%, up from 9%). They attributed this to the willingness of banks to provide credit (14%, down from 16%). However, in this survey round more euro area SMEs perceived the general economic outlook as an impediment to the availability of external finance (-13% down from -9%). This assessment was broad-based across countries, but it was most marked in Spain (-26%, down from -8%), Finland (-24%, down from -7%) and Italy (-16%, up from -17%).
Regarding price terms and conditions of bank financing, euro area SMEs reported net declines in interest rates on bank loans (-9% net, down from 4% in the previous round). At the same time, 29% (down from 30%) of euro area SMEs continued to signal increases in other costs of financing, such as charges, fees and commissions.