Business revenue up 4.4% in last quarter

THE cash tills for most industries were ringing merrily in the fourth quarter of last year, going by the latest business receipts figures from the Department of Statistics (DOS).

The insurance, real estate, IT consultancy, post and telecommunications industries all saw double-digit growth in business receipts, driving the overall business receipts index up 4.4 per cent from the same period a year ago.

Compared with the third quarter, business receipts were up 9.9 per cent.

The few industries which saw a drop in business were financial services (down 11.8 per cent), water transport (down 5.1 per cent) and advertising (down 8.1 per cent).

Excluding the financial and insurance services cluster, total business receipts rose 5.8 per cent, DOS said yesterday.

Turnover in the financial services industry was down due to poorer business for the Asian Currency Units of banks, DOS said. But other financial services such as stockbroking, investment advisory and fund management continued to do well.

And it was boom time for the insurance industry, which enjoyed a 51.1 per cent surge in receipts, as life and general insurance services prospered.

Compiled quarterly, the business receipts index measures short-term changes in the operating receipts of firms. It includes commissions and fees earned, but excludes the goods and services tax.