Island businesses have expressed their concerns about the winter ahead as costs continue to rise.

Inflation and rising energy prices are the main external factors that are driving these worries, according to recent data gathered by Isle of Man Chamber of Commerce.

Chamber chief executive Rebecca George said: ‘The results show a significant shift towards greater concerns about the foreseeable future, with several indicators making it clear that businesses are experiencing the toughest conditions they have faced for many years.’

Manx businesses also appear to be more concerned about profitability over the next year than their UK counterparts.

The survey, which also included questions from the British Chamber of Commerce, found that 64% of island businesses expected profits to decrease over the next 12 months, compared to 39% of UK businesses expressing the same worry according to a BCC survey.

Only 13.86% of those surveyed expected profits to increase in the same period, with the rest expecting them to stay the same.

The number for expected turnover also saw greater concern amongst Manx companies with 46% expecting a decrease but only 25% of the UK respondents expecting the same.

The major concern expressed in the survey was inflation with 94.9% of respondents citing the issue as a worry, far more than the second biggest external pressure of interest rates, named by 33% of businesses.

The data was collected as part of the chamber’s most recent quarterly economic survey, taken between August 22 and September 16, beginning just before the government announced a freeze on electricity prices until March 2023.

However, Ms George said: ‘Even so, Chamber feels that the latest survey data supports other data and anecdotal evidence we have from members which illustrate serious concerns about the winter ahead.

‘As always, Chamber’s dialogue with our members and government will continue, and we will be holding regular meetings with both the Treasury and Department for Enterprise to ensure that they remain fully aware of the challenges that businesses are facing.’

Perhaps as a result of the worries, almost 80% of the 103 businesses that participated cited an increase in their goods or services, only one of the participating businesses cited a decrease.

Some of the other pressures cited by respondents included labour costs, with 83% facing pressure from them, prices of raw materials, 70%, and the cost of fuel, 65%.

Despite concerns about labour costs, the size of the workforce for participating businesses largely stayed stable with most saying it had stayed the same the last three months (58%) and will do over the same period coming (54.46%).

About 25% said their workforce had decreased over the last three months and just under 28% said they expect it to decrease going forward.

Soon after the survey began, on August 24, Treasury Minister Dr Alex Allinson MHK announced a support package that included a loan to Manx Utilities to cap the cost of electricity at 22p per unit after warnings from the body that prices could reach as high as 37.4p per unit.

At the time, Dr Allinson said: ‘It is a considerable sum which will help people and businesses to meet rising costs and means this money can circulate in our economy, boosting both consumer and business confidence.’

The chamber’s original response welcomed the support ‘broadly speaking’ but said the cap was ‘not so beneficial for the many smaller businesses’ outside of helping them to ‘plan ahead and budget for the next six months.’

Notably, 86% of the businesses responding to the chamber’s survey had a workforce smaller than 50 employees.

l Key figures from the survey can be found on the Chamber of Commerce website, www.iomchamber.org.im, in the news section.