AMEC companies' exports grow by 3,3% in 2016

Annual report “2016 Situation and 2017 Outlook”

Exports have reached €5.400 billion and, on average, represent 57,2% of companies' revenue. The improvement in the domestic market has stabilized the export trend.

---

La exporting total of the amec companies has increased by 3,3% in 2016, as reflected by the association of internationalized industrial companies amec in its annual reportSituation 2016 and Outlook 2017".

 

This figure highlights the slowdown in growth, since the previous year the exports They increased by 11%. This is mainly due to the stagnation of world trade, given the slowdown in growth in developing economies such as China and Brazil and a complex international environment that will continue to be a factor in the future. 

 

Thus, exports Plans amec companies Exports reach €5.400 billion and on average represent 57,2% of their revenue, compared to 58,2% the previous year. Export activity has stabilized due to the improvement in the domestic market. In this regard, 56% of companies consider the national economic situation to have been more favorable than the previous year, compared to 29% who consider it the same and 15% who have experienced it as worse.

 

The evolution of international situation The outlook has been less positive than the national average: only 38% indicate that 2016 has improved compared to the previous year, while 20% consider it worse. The report highlights that companies are facing 2017 with various elements of uncertainty, such as financial volatility stemming from changes in the monetary politics of developed countries, the rise of protectionist rhetoric and the potential effects of BrexitEven so, 46% of companies believe the situation will improve this year, and only 9% believe it will worsen. “We are in an uncertain and highly variable environment depending on the sector or geographical area,” explained the president of amec, Manel Xifrawho added that this environment "can generate opportunities if we know how to navigate it."

 

So much so that 75% of companies expect to increase exports in 2017, compared to 64% in 2016. Overall, they estimate that they will increase their exports by 7% this year. exports.

 

Companies are maintaining their mix of destinations, with a slight drop in the European Unionwhich is the main market (which has gone from representing 57,8% of exports to 57,3%) and an increase in the weight of U.S. y to Canada (which increase from 5% to 6,3%), as well as Magreb (from 6,1% to 7,6%). Conversely, the share of exports has fallen more significantly in Latin America (from 12,7% to 10,6%).

 

 

 

The outlook for 2017 is affected by financial volatility stemming from changes in monetary policy in developed countries, the rise of protectionist rhetoric, and the potential effects of Brexit. Even so, 75% of companies expect to increase their exports.

 

 

 

Main difficulties: low-cost countries, geopolitical environment and energy prices

 

“For the first time, companies are highlighting the existence of overly competitive prices, due to supply from low-cost countries, as the main difficulty when it comes to internationalization,” it points out. Xifra44% cite this fact as the primary barrier, followed by tariff costs (38%) and the difficulty of finding trading partners (35%).

 

Competition from low-cost countries is also considered the main current factor that has negatively affected companies, ahead of the international geopolitical environment, which ranks second, and the cost of energy and raw materials, which has also been identified for the first time by 41% of companies as an aspect that has had a negative impact. 

 

Conversely, only 6% of companies report having had difficulties in access to credit in 2016, compared to 13% in 2015 and 17% in 2014. So much so that for the first time financing appears among the cyclical factors of 2016 that have had a positive impact (cited by 42% of companies) and not as a negative aspect.

 

Overall, 84% of companies amec 10% of businesses made a profit in 2015, 10% closed with losses, and 6% had a break-even year. 72% increased their sales in 2016, while 76% expect to do so in 2017.

 

Digitalization as a strategic aspect of companies

 

The report of amec This year's report analyzes the importance of digital transformation for business competitiveness. In this regard, 72% of companies believe that digitalization will primarily transform management, marketing, and communication in the short and medium term. 39% think it will transform sales channels, and 28% believe it will transform the business model and the product, respectively. However, only 16% of companies report that they are already fully digitized across all areas.

 

On the other hand, the percentage of turnover allocated to innovation in 2016 was 3,9%, one point lower than the 4,7% of 2015, despite the fact that more companies carried out some innovation activity (91% compared to 87% of the previous year).

 

amec: generating impact for Internationalization

 

The association of the international industrial companies amec For over 45 years, it has promoted exports, internationalization, and innovation for companies throughout the country. The companies that are part of AMEC generate a export volume more than 5.400 million euros and invest 3,9% of their turnover in Innovation.