The domestic corporate sector is optimistic for January-March 2003, according to Dun & Bradstreet India's "Business Expectations Survey" for the first quarter of the calendar year.
The optimism index for net profits during the quarter is 62 per cent -- an all-time high.
The survey found that as many as 78 per cent of corporates across sectors expect an improvement in volume sales for January-March quarter, while only seven per cent expect a decline.
71 per cent companies are optimistic of an improvement in net sales during the quarter. In a press statement, D&B said this is the highest level of its optimism index recorded since the survey was introduced in India.
"This index had been in the negative territory for five consecutive quarters (Q2 2001-Q2 2002) and had entered the positive zone only in Q3 2002. The recessionary environment, which was thwarting all efforts of a better price realisation, seems to be finally giving way to better days.
"Although a majority (65 per cent) of the respondents expect no change in their selling prices, a large number (25 per cent) expect an improvement whereas only nine per cent expect a decline," D&B said in a statement.
"The resultant optimism index for selling prices, at 16 per cent for Q1 2003, is close to its all-time high of 17 per cent and is a remarkable improvement over the five per cent recorded in the preceding quarter," it added.
Further, 77 per cent expect their new order position to improve during the quarter while only 6 per cent expect a decline.
Also, 25 per cent of companies expect to recruit during the quarter, while only 5 per cent said they might retrench.
69 per cent of the companies said they have no plans to recruit. 24 per cent of the people surveyed said they expect their inventory levels to go up, while 10 per cent expected a decline in inventories.
