High utility bills, a blow to Sardinian small businesses: increases exceeding 20%.
76.5% of companies reported price increases in the last six months. 56.8% reported shrinking margins, raising the alarm from CNA Sardegna: "Higher costs are slowing down investments."(Handle)
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Energy is increasingly weighing on the budgets of Sardinian micro and small businesses. 76.5% reported an increase in energy expenditure in the last six months, and among those experiencing price increases, 45.8% reported growth of between 10% and 20%, while 19.1% had to contend with increases exceeding 20%. This picture confirms that energy costs are no longer simply a variable tied to emergencies, but a structural factor capable of impacting businesses' competitiveness.
This is what emerges from the "Energy and Small Businesses" survey, conducted by CNA on a representative sample of member companies belonging to various production sectors.
In Sardinia, the issue takes on even greater weight, with its specific productive fabric composed largely of micro and small artisanal businesses, which, in addition to high energy costs, face the disadvantages of island status. What's worrying is not only the level of prices, but also their volatility, which makes business planning more difficult and diverts resources from investment.
According to the CNA survey, 78.2% of companies consider the consequences of geopolitical tensions on energy markets to be worrying for their business . And the level of concern has increased over the past year for 86.7% of companies: 25.9% reported a significant increase, while only 1% reported a decrease.
Energy costs significantly impact the operations of 84% of businesses: 39.1% consider it to have a significant impact and 44.9% consider it to have a moderate impact. The energy issue, therefore, no longer concerns only traditionally energy-intensive sectors, but now encompasses the entire system of micro and small businesses, including those in Sardinia linked to service-based artisanship and local manufacturing.
These concerns are confirmed by the bills. 76.5% of businesses reported an increase in energy costs over the last six months. Margins are the ones paying the price for these increases. 56.8% of businesses experienced a reduction in their profitability. Only 20.4% were able to pass on at least some of the higher costs to customers, while 2.7% had to reduce production or the services they offered.
For CNA Sardinia, therefore, the energy issue can no longer be addressed solely through short-term interventions. Energy now influences the profitability, investment decisions, and growth prospects of businesses. Ensuring competitive and predictable supply conditions must therefore become a central component of industrial policy, including at the regional level. According to the association, greater market transparency, tools capable of reducing the exposure of micro and small businesses to price volatility, and structural interventions are needed, avoiding interventions limited to emergency situations. For Sardinia, this also means accelerating infrastructure investments capable of reducing the island's energy gap compared to the rest of the country.
"The data from the CNA national survey," stated Luigi Tomasi and Francesco Porcu, president and regional secretary of CNA Sardinia, respectively, " reveal a situation that is particularly acute in Sardinia. Our businesses, largely micro and small artisan businesses, lack the bargaining power to pass on price increases and end up absorbing them, reducing margins and the resources available for investment and job creation." " The energy crisis can no longer be addressed as a temporary emergency," they continued. "We need truly accessible tools for micro and small businesses, greater market transparency, and structural interventions capable of reducing exposure to price volatility. For Sardinia, where infrastructure challenges compound national ones, this also means bridging the energy gap that has always penalized our production system." "We will discuss these results with the Region, the Government, and Parliament," they concluded. "Energy policy must recognize the unique nature of the Sardinian production system, made up of micro and small businesses that are the primary source of employment and community in our regions."
(Unioneonline/D)