Small- and Mid-Sized Companies from São Paulo have best October since 2003, says Sebrae
Folha de S. Paulo - 12/10/2007
The small- and mid-sized companies (SMBs) of São Paulo had their best October since 2003. The total revenue of the SMBs reached R$ 23.5 billion (US$ 13.2 billion), nearly R$ 2.4 billion (US$ 1.35 billion) more than in October, 2006. The information is part of the "Indicadores Sebrae-SP" research. The research, which is made every month in partnership with the Fundação Seade (State Data Analysis System Foundation) since 1998, monitors the performance of 2,700 small enterprises of the State of São Paulo. Based on these figures, Sebrae estimates that the sales of the micro and small businesses may grow nearly 4% this year and invert the 2006 scenario, when a fall of 3.5% in the sales of the sector was registered. In amounts, the sale of the SMBs may possibly reach R$ 200 billion (US$ 112.36 billion). The numbers from October have also made entrepreneurs more optimists regarding 2008. Nearly 45% of them expect an improvement in their sales in the next six months. It is the highest index of positive expectation for this type of business since May/2005, when this question started being asked in the survey. The reasons for the October high identified by Sebrae are the greater number of business days (three more than in the month of September of this year and two more in comparison with October of the last year), the greater offer of consumption credit, inflation under control and the improvement of the workers' real income and the salary mass.