The results of the South Trinidad Chamber of Industry and Commerce’s (STCIC) latest Energy Services Sector Survey (ESSS) for the second quarter of 2009 still reflect the current global economic uncertainty, the STCIC reported. The chamber said the ESSS maps the performance and optimism of T&T’s energy service sector members, providing data on their business confidence and on some of the phenomena which impact on their operations and business prospects.
The STCIC said that 85 per cent of respondents in the latest survey reported a drop in their overall profitability while more than 45 per cent of respondents stated that the value and volume of their business were below normal rates in this quarter. The survey said respondents stated this outlook will no doubt influence business decisions on capital expenditure, staff training and even recruitment.
The STCIC also said that for the second quarter 2009, only 10 per cent of respondents revealed that their cost per employee had increased. Staff reduction over the past six months could help explain this variation since in the first quarter 2009 survey, 63 per cent of respondents indicated their cost per employee had increased, the report stated. The STCIC said the Central Bank’s latest Summary Economic Indicators Bulletin indicated that the T&T economy has contracted by 3.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2009 and by 1.1 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2008.
The bulletin also showed a marked fall off in energy sector growth in the first quarter of 2009, with the country’s energy GDP declining by 2.2 per cent. “Anticipated cost-cutting in the mid-and-downstream sectors could also lead to companies servicing the downstream being less active in the coming months,” the energy survey stated.
Story from Trinidad & Tobago Guardian
Trinidad & Tobago Guardian
6Aug 2009
