CEOs see 40% revenue dip in June quarter: Poll

NEWDELHI: Two-thirds of Indian chief executive officers (CEOs) expect a 40% revenue decline in the quarter ending June 30 because of the nationwide shutdown for the coronavirus disease and its fallout, manifested by a lack of consumer demand, value chain and labour market disruptions as well as raw material shortages, according to a snap poll conducted by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

More than half the CEOs foresee job losses after the lockdown ends, said the poll. Businesses have largely refrained from layoffs, but the hit suffered by their revenue streams has started causing financial distresses which would deepen if they remain shut longer, making job losses inevitable, the survey warned.

The respondents were mainly representatives of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), which have borne the brunt of the coronavirus outbreak and its after-effects on the economy.

Forty-five percent of CEOs expect the economy to take more than a year to revive and 36% think the recovery will take six months to a year, the CII poll found.

The CEOs want business operations to be resumed across districts including geographic zones worst hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, subject to strict safety protocols, so that the economy can return to track.

“It is believed that the cost of prioritising actions in such districts would be much smaller in comparison to the economic loss if these businesses have to remain shut,” CII said in its survey report, demanding that all industrial activities -- essential and non-essential -- be allowed to resume in all zones with strict health protocols in place.