The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Uganda’s private sector activity picked up in April amidst prolonged traders’ strike over the government’s enforcement of the Electronic Fiscal Receipting and Invoicing Solutions, a new business survey shows.
The Stanbic Bank Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 52.6 in April from 49.3 a month earlier. Readings above 50.0 signal growth, while those below point to a contraction. In March, it was the second time since July 2022 that the figure went below 50.
“Greater new business stimulated increased purchasing activity and efforts to build inventories. At the same time, we note that Ugandan businesses hired additional workers as they sought to continue to reduce backlogs of work and pressure on capacity,” said Christopher Legilisho, Economist at Stanbic Bank.
Legilisho said the pick-up in customer demand helped drive output growth, as firms indicated a renewed rise in business activity. However, agriculture businesses saw a decrease in output on the month.
Despite higher purchase costs, businesses stepped up their input buying again during the month. Increased client demand and efforts to build safety stocks were widely noted as factors driving the expansion.
The business remain remains optimistic regarding the outlook for output over the coming 12 months riding on new client wins, hopes of improved demand conditions and increased advertising spending.
“As has been the case for almost four years, positive sentiment was broad-based by sector,” the bank said in a statement.
Stanbic PMI is compiled by S&P Global from responses to questionnaires sent to purchasing managers in a panel of around 400 private sector companies in the agriculture, mining, manufacturing, construction, wholesale, retail, and services sectors.
The PMI is a weighted average of five indices: New Orders (30%), Output (25%), Employment (20%), Suppliers’ Delivery Times (15%) and Stocks of Purchases (10%).
