The Economic Situation in the Polish Printing Industry in the years 2012 - 2013

Tomorrow is the today of tomorrow... Sawomir Mroek

www.obia.elpis.pl Centre for Research and Analysis

Copyright by Fair Business Association Centre for Research and Analysis Copyright by Wiesaw Cetera Stowarzyszenie Fair Business - Orodek Bada i Analiz 02-495 Warszawa Aleje Jerozolimskie 232a e-mail: biuro@elpis.pl www.obia.elpis.pl

The Economic Situation in the Polish Printing Industry in the years 2012 - 2013

Warsaw 2013

Copyright by Fair Business Association Centre for Research and Analysis Copyright by Wiesaw Cetera Stowarzyszenie Fair Business - Orodek Bada i Analiz 02-495 Warszawa Aleje Jerozolimskie 232a e-mail: biuro@elpis.pl www.obia.elpis.pl

Fair Business Association Centre for Research and Analysis

In February 2012, we carried out the first survey on the economic situation among the small and medium-sized enterprises in the printing industry. Its findings, which were published in March 2012, were not optimistic. In September 2012, the second survey on the economic situation was performed and the third one took place in April 2013. A six-month cycle of surveys ought to enable us to see what constitutes an announcement of further changes in the printing industry and the potential beginning of its deep restructuring. The first survey on the economic situation in the printing industry was carried out among 177 printing companies. The second study included 330 entities, while during the third one we polled 356 enterprises. The structure of employment during each of the surveys on small and mediumsized printing companies was very similar. The majority of the surveyed enterprises (ca. 60%) did not hire more than 9 employees. Approximately 27 per cent employed 10 to 49 workers, while more than 12 per cent hired 50 to 249. In the course of the survey carried out in April 2013, survey forms were also filled in by 3 companies that employed more than 250 people. These answers, although interesting, have not been taken into consideration in the present study. The last 18 months have, without a doubt, been a worse time for printing. In the conducted studies, approximately 10 per cent of the companies (8, 8 and 10, respectively) have shown an improvement in their situation. Fewer and fewer companies (20, 12 and 8, respectively), though, see the hope for improvement. Simultaneously, the situation of more than half of them (50, 57 and 54) has got worse (44, 50, and 38, respectively) despite the fact that the indications of worsening in the future have noticeably decreased. The group of companies that show a stabilisation of their situation (36, 38, and 54, respectively) is constantly growing. The overall situation of a company is a consequence of the changes in the market on the demand side. The majority of the surveyed entities (50, 57 and 58, respectively) have shown a declining demand for the sold services. Unfortunately, a significant proportion of the enterprises (37, 40 and 38) are predicting a further decline in the demand. A relatively small (and constantly decreasing) proportion of the printing companies have noted its increase (15, 10 and 8, respectively). Also, a small proportion (15, 19 and 12, respectively) is predicting an increase. In spite of the decreasing demand, employment has remained unchanged at more than 70 per cent of the printing companies (64, 75 and 71, respectively) and the group of entities (68, 75 and 85, respectively) who declare that they have permanent staff is growing systematically. The indications of employment growth remain at a constant level (5, 5 and 4, respectively) and so do the indications of its growth in the future (5, 3 and 5). Most companies (65, 65 and 69, respectively) see a barrier that limits their activity in the falling demand. The most important barriers also include high employment


The Economic Situation in the Polish Printing Industry in the years 2012 - 2013

costs (62, 53 and 58, respectively), the uncertainty of the overall economic situation (56, 68 and 65, respectively), high charges for the budget (51, 51 and 44, respectively) and the competition from domestic companies (51, 46, and 54, respectively). The respondents answers concerning production capacity are also noteworthy. The replies we received have shown a decrease in the use of the means of production. In fact, no more than 50 per cent of the production capacity was used by 48, 42 and 56 per cent of the companies during the subsequent studies. More than 75 per cent of the production capacity was used at 12, 20 and 15 per cent of the companies, respectively. The guaranteed period of activity of the enterprises does not seem to look very good either; it does not exceed four weeks for 43, 55 and 52 per cent of the companies, respectively. That period exceeds 27 weeks (half a year) only for 16, 16 and 19 per cent of the enterprises. The situation of the Polish printing industry is not the most preferable one. The demand for the offered services is decreasing systematically. Excess production capacity is a strong factor that has influence on the decline in prices. Simultaneously, a significant part of the means of production has either been financed by loans or constitutes the subject of lease agreements. Entrepreneurs have been placed before the firing squad; the constant financial burdens generated by these forms of financing are incompatible with the decline in demand and prices. The competition is high and the quality, price and deadline requirements are growing. Unfortunately, the majority of the companies are not looking for alternative markets or the still significant reserves in organizational and marketing innovation. The attachment to expensive technology alone can be destructive to any company whose offer does not respond to the needs emerging in the market. Wiesaw Cetera 21.05.2013

Fair Business Association Centre for Research and Analysis The volume of employment in the surveyed printing companies

16 24

12 27

13 27 50-249 10-49 do 9

60

61

60

February 2012

September 2012

April 2013

NOTE: All results are given as a percentage.

The Economic Situation in the Polish Printing Industry in the years 2012 - 2013

1.

In your opinion, in what way has the overall situation of your company in the business changed over the last three months?

57 50

54 42 35 36

February 2012 September 2012 April 2013

10

It has got worse

It has remained unchanged

It has improved

2.

In what way has the demand for services sold by your company changed over the last three months?

57 50

58

February 2012 September 2012 35 33 34 April 2013

15 10 8

It has decreased

It has remained unchanged

It has increased

Fair Business Association Centre for Research and Analysis

3.

In what way has the employment in your organization changed over the last three months?

75 64

71 February 2012 September 2012 April 2013 31 25 18 5 5 4

It has remained unchanged

It has decreased

It has increased

4.

What is the current economic situation of your company?

49

49 42

50 45 41 February 2012 September 2012 April 2013 10 8

Satisfactory

Bad

Good

The Economic Situation in the Polish Printing Industry in the years 2012 - 2013

5.

What are the most important barriers that are currently limiting the activities of your company?

There are no barriers Competition from foreign companies Space shortage Skilled workers shortage Difficulties in obtaining credits Unclear and inconsistent legislation Shortage of equipment Competition from domestic companies High charges for the budget Uncertainty of the overall economic situation Employment costs Insufficient demand

2 2 10

April 2013 September 2012 February 2012

15 18 20 20

12 11 12 9 6 15 12

18

17 18 20 46 44 54 51 51 51 65 56 53 58 62 65 65 69 68

10

Fair Business Association Centre for Research and Analysis

6.

How is the current demand for services sold by your company changing?

52

56

58

February 2012 September 2012 33 35 27 April 2013

15 9

15

It is decreasing

It remains unchanged

It is increasing

7.

How is the current sale of your companys services changing?

58 51 53 February 2012 38 33 27 September 2012 April 2013 14 15

11

It is decreasing

It remains unchanged

It is increasing

11

The Economic Situation in the Polish Printing Industry in the years 2012 - 2013

8.

What percentage of the full production capacity of your company (employees, equipment, means of transport, surface, machines, etc.) is currently used?

37 31 30

40

38

February 2012 September 2012 29 April 2013

17 12

19 12

20 15

0-25

25-50

51-75

76-100

9.

What is your companys guaranteed period of activity (in weeks)?

55 43

52

February 2012 September 2012 29 20 21 12 9 8 April 2013 19

16 16

1-4

5-12

13-26

27-51

12

Fair Business Association Centre for Research and Analysis

10.

In what way is the current financial situation of your company changing?

58 49

February 2012 54 44 36 30 September 2012 April 2013

12

10

It is getting worse

It remains unchanged

It is improving

11.

In what way are the delays in payment for the services provided by you company changing?

55 51 42 44 39 31 September 2012 April 2013 February 2012

8 3

They are getting greater

They remain unchanged

They are getting smaller

There are no delays in payments

13

The Economic Situation in the Polish Printing Industry in the years 2012 - 2013

12.

In what way are the current prices for the services sold by your company changing?

53

55

54 44 35 46

February 2012 September 2012 April 2013

12 2 They are falling They remain unchanged 0

They are growing

13.

In what way do you think is the overall economic situation of your company going to change in the next three months?

50 44 38 36 38

54

February 2012 September 2012 April 2013 20 12 8

It is going to get worse

It is going to remain unchanged

It is going to improve

14

Fair Business Association Centre for Research and Analysis

14.

In what way is the demand for services sold by your company going to change in the next three months?

48 41

50 40 38

February 2012 37 September 2012 April 2013 19 12

15

It is going to remain unchanged

It is going to decrease

It is going to increase

15.

In what way is the sale of your companys services going to change in the next three months?

52 43 35 33 33 41

February 2012 September 2012 April 2013 24 24 15

It is going to decrease

It is going to remain unchanged

It is going to increase

15

The Economic Situation in the Polish Printing Industry in the years 2012 - 2013

16.

In what way is the financial situation of your company going to change in the next three months?

48 37

50 40 32 20 37

February 2012 September 2012 April 2013 23 13

It is going to get worse

It is going to remain unchanged

It is going to improve

17.

What are the sources of funding of the activity going to be in the next three months?

89 90 90 February 2012 September 2012 35 April 2013

27

31

5
Own resources Domestic bank credit

7
Other

Funds from the Foreign bank credit state budget

16

Fair Business Association Centre for Research and Analysis

18.

In what way is the employment in your company going to change in the next three months?

85 75 68 February 2012 September 2012 April 2013 27 22 10 5 3 5

It is going to remain unchanged

It is going to decrease

It is going to increase

19.

In what way are the prices of the services sold by your company going to change in the next three months?

81 72 56

February 2012 September 2012 April 2013 29 24

19

15 5 0

They are going to remain unchanged

They are going to drop

They are going to rise

17

The Economic Situation in the Polish Printing Industry in the years 2012 - 2013

20.

In what way is the investment expenditure (equipment, means of transport, buildings, machinery, etc.) in your company going to change in the next three months?

39 40

35

31

35 29

February 2012 September 2012 April 2013 13 10 10 12 14 12 5 7 8

No investments are expected (insufficient funds)

They are going to remain unchanged

No investments are expected (no such need)

They are going to increase

They are going to decrease

21.

At the current demand reported and its changes anticipated for the next few months, the current production capacity (employers, equipment, means of transport, machinery, surface, etc.) of your company is:

67 60

65

February 2012 September 2012 April 2013 29 29 31

11 4 Sufficient Too great Too small 4

18

Stowarzyszenie Fair Business - Orodek Bada i Analiz 02-495 Warszawa Aleje Jerozolimskie 232a e-mail: biuro@elpis.pl www.obia.elpis.pl

Stowarzyszenie Fair Business

Stowarzyszenie Inynierw i Technikw Mechanikw Polskich

Orodek Bada i Analiz

www.obia.elpis.pl
Orodek Bada i Analiz, 02-495 Warszawa, Aleje Jerozolimskie 232a, tel. 514 090 056, e-mail: biuro@elpis.pl