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Queensland SMEs have surged to the top of national rankings for projected business growth.
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ScotPac SME growth index reveals positive picture for Qld SMEs
29 October 2024
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Small businesses in Queensland have forecasted a notable jump in revenue despite the uncertainty that surrounded the state election, the latest ScotPac SME Growth Index Report has revealed.
The index showed that 84 per cent of SMEs in Queensland had predicted a jump in revenue to March 2025, with an average of 11 per cent.
Only 9 per cent of the state’s SMEs predicted a decline in revenue.
Western Australian small businesses were ranked as the next “most enthusiastic” about the future based on comparable exposure to resources and tourism markets.
Victoria was placed at the bottom of the scale, as the index revealed only 28 per cent of SMEs had forecasted short-term revenue.
ScotPac CEO Jon Sutton said the index revealed a widening chasm in SME revenue projections which highlighted Australia’s diverse regional markets.
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“The remarkable positivity for Queensland SMEs is being fuelled by a growing population and increased demand for the State’s abundant natural resources,” Sutton said.
“That is driving our national economy and propping up other markets that are struggling with rising wages, cost of living pressures and weakened consumer demand.”
Sutton noted the latest index headline findings provided further evidence that Australia’s “two-speed” SME economy was now in overdrive.
It was found that the gap in half-year revenue growth in the SME market had widened to 45 percentage points, the largest-ever margin.
This stretched from the most positive SMEs at +17 per cent to the most pessimistic at -28 per cent.
According to the results, 56 per cent of Australian SMEs had projected positive revenue growth in the next months, a slight uptick from 53 per cent last period.
The index also found that 34 per cent of small businesses forecasted falling revenue by a record average of minus 13 per cent, a new high that had tripled over the last decade.
Sutton said the positivity highlighted was in line with upcoming interest rate changes.
“The net result is that the resilience and agility of Australia’s SME is again on full display, with a majority of businesses expecting a bounce in revenue to go hand in glove with anticipated falls in inflation and interest rates next year.”
The index also revealed how SMEs were faring in different sectors.
The mining sector remained the most positive, with an average anticipated revenue growth of 5 per cent, ahead of transport at 3.5 per cent and business services at 2.5 per cent.
The most pessimistic SME sector was construction with a forecasted revenue growth of -6 per cent with the manufacturing sector being just ahead of this at -2 per cent.
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