Manufacturing Sales and investment increases

Malta Independent Saturday, 2 June 2007, 00:00 Last update: about 20 years ago

A sample survey among manufacturing enterprises showed that sales and investment in the sampled enterprises increased during the first quarter of 2007 when compared to the same quarter last year, while employment decreased, the National Statistics Office reported yesterday.

Sales

During the first quarter of 2007, total sales by the sampled manufacturing enterprises increased by Lm13.2 million, or 5.7 per cent, to Lm245.7 million for the same period the previous year. Export-oriented enterprises generated Lm203.3 million or 82.7 per cent of the total sales.

The publishing and printing sub-sector registered an increase in sales of Lm5.6 million, or 57.7 per cent. Higher sales were also registered by the electrical machinery and apparatus, the chemicals and chemical products, the furniture and manufacturing n.e.c., and the food and beverages manufacturing sub-sectors.

During the survey period the radio, TV and communication equipment manufacturing sub-sector registered a 2.1 per cent drop in its sales, from Lm119.8 million to Lm117.3 million when compared to the same period last year.

Employment, wages

and salaries

In the first quarter this year, employment in the sampled enterprises declined by 97 employees to 18,142 from 18,239 for the same period the previous year.

Lower employment levels were recorded mainly in the food and beverages and the medical, precision and optical instruments sub-sectors. Other decreases were registered by the leather and leather products, the wearing apparel and clothes and the fabricated metal products sub-sectors.

Increases in employment were mainly recorded in the radio, TV and communication equipment, the electrical machinery and apparatus and the chemicals and chemical products sub-sectors.

In the period under review, gross wages and salaries paid out by the sampled enterprises totalled some Lm30 million.

Investment

During the January-March quarter, overall investment in the sampled enterprises amounted to Lm20.7 million, an increase of Lm3 million when compared to the first quarter of 2006.