EK, the Confederation of Finnish Industries, published the results of its most recent economic barometer on Wednesday. It revealed that business confidence in the Finnish economy had dipped to a low -13 reading compared with the previous reading of -2 in July.
The survey, which is conducted 4 times a year, included responses from 1,314 companies. The main takeaway is that major industries say they are operating well below average in terms of potential capacity and profitability. In the October survey, 10 percent of industrial businesses said they were hoping the business cycle would improve during the winter season, while a quarter of respondents thought that the economic situation in Finland would become worse than it is now.
At the same time, forest industry company Metsä Group posted profits of 103 million euros for its third quarter (July-September), a sharp increase from their 63 million-euro profit in the third quarter of 2013.
The Port of Helsinki also released its export and passenger numbers on Wednesday and both showed an increase. Cargo exports through the port have risen by seven percent in October year-on-year and 900,000 passengers passed through the port in October, which represents a one percent increase over the same month in 2013.