Economy grew faster than expected: record profit for companies

The Dutch economy continued to grow in the first three months of this year. The Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) had initially calculated that the size of the economy would remain the same as in the fourth quarter of 2021. But in a second, more precise calculation, GIS now calculates a growth of 0.4%.

One of the reasons why growth has been adjusted so strongly is that Statistics Netherlands now has more figures. This shows that the increase in consumption is greater than expected. “During the spring break, more Dutch people went on holiday abroad,” says Peter Hein van Mulligen, chief economist at CBS. The government has also made less cutbacks than originally thought.

In addition, CBS has incorporated seasonal effects in the figures in a different way. As a result, growth was weaker in the third and fourth quarters of last year, and even picked up in the first quarter of this year.

record profit

The business community also benefited from the economic growth of the first three months. Corporate profits reached record levels. Together they made a profit of 81.5 billion euros. That is 13.7 billion euros more than a year ago. In 2021, companies were partially helped by the corona support from the Dutch government. This support played a much smaller role in the first quarter of this year.

Profits increased, especially in the mining, oil, energy, wholesale, hospitality, travel and aviation sectors. As companies made more profit, they paid more tax on profits. Partly for this reason, the government received more money than it spent in the first three months of the year. This is the first time since the start of the corona crisis.

R-word

Peter Hein van Mulligen says that in general the Dutch economy is doing well. Rabobank economists warned of a recession. “The R-word is heard a lot, but if you look at the manufacturing industry for example, it’s still doing very well. The labor market is running like crazy and despite these figures, consumption in April was still positive. where you compare it to last year’s intense quarantine period.”

ING reported this morning that consumers appeared to be more cautious about spending in June. The debit card transactions registered by the bank decreased compared to the previous month.

Source: NOS

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