NZ small biz more bullish than Aust counterparts

NZ's construction, retail, manufacturing and rural sectors are expected to outperform Australia's this year. Photo / APN

New Zealand small to medium-sized businesses are more bullish in their revenue expectations for the year to August than their Australian counterparts, according to a MYOB trans-Tasman report.

Around 43 per cent of the 1000 New Zealand SMEs surveyed by the business software company are expecting revenues to rise between August 2013 and the same month this year.

Some 10 per cent of New Zealand businesses surveyed by MYOB are forecasting revenue to fall over this period.

Across the ditch, a quarter of the 1000 SMEs surveyed expect revenue to improve and 22 per cent are forecasting it to be down.

A higher proportion of New Zealand operators are also more optimistic about the economy than in Australia.

Almost 30 per cent of New Zealand SMEs expects the economy to improve in the year to August, while only 23 per cent of Australian businesses surveyed had optimistic sentiments about their economy.

"Where the differences are particularly evident is in the relative performance of key sectors," said MYOB chief executive Tim Reed.

"New Zealand's construction, retail, manufacturing and rural sectors are all expecting to outperform Australia's".

"In Australia, businesses are more optimistic about growth in the year to August 2014 than they were in the previous 12 months, but the opportunities are probably at least six to 12 months behind where New Zealand sits. Although the winding down of the mining boom remains a concern, investment in construction is on the rise, and the falling Australian dollar is helping both exporters and the tourism economy," he said.

More bullish expectations this side of the Tasman followed the local SME economy outperforming the same sector in Australia in the year to August 2013, MYOB said.