New Zealand’s non-financial business sector showed a negative saving of $2.5 billion in the March 2024 quarter, according to figures released by Stats NZ today.
Negative saving represents greater outgoings than income and is funded by prior saving or new borrowing. The non-financial business sector has experienced negative saving in four of the last five quarters. This contrasts with positive saving in most quarters of the preceding six years.
| Quarter | Saving |
| Jun-16 | 1424000000 |
| Sep-16 | 1085000000 |
| Dec-16 | 3124000000 |
| Mar-17 | 2124000000 |
| Jun-17 | 1913000000 |
| Sep-17 | 2359000000 |
| Dec-17 | 3031000000 |
| Mar-18 | 1902000000 |
| Jun-18 | 1924000000 |
| Sep-18 | 1758000000 |
| Dec-18 | 1775000000 |
| Mar-19 | 1867000000 |
| Jun-19 | 1250000000 |
| Sep-19 | 963000000 |
| Dec-19 | 2141000000 |
| Mar-20 | 6039000000 |
| Jun-20 | 6918000000 |
| Sep-20 | 3835000000 |
| Dec-20 | 2503000000 |
| Mar-21 | 1790000000 |
| Jun-21 | 3301000000 |
| Sep-21 | 3716000000 |
| Dec-21 | 4922000000 |
| Mar-22 | -260000000 |
| Jun-22 | 1302000000 |
| Sep-22 | 1278000000 |
| Dec-22 | 2856000000 |
| Mar-23 | -1626000000 |
| Jun-23 | 326000000 |
| Sep-23 | -2030000000 |
| Dec-23 | -3069000000 |
| Mar-24 | -2532000000 |
The sector’s gross operating surplus decreased to $16.0 billion in the March 2024 quarter. This is the fifth consecutive decrease since the final quarter of 2022 when gross operating surplus was $18.9 billion.
“Decreases in operating surplus reflect lower profitability for the business sector,” national accounts institutional sectors senior manager Paul Pascoe said.
“Over the last year, the production of goods and services slowed while the cost of labour continued to rise.”
Interest paid increased by a further 2.2 percent to $7.2 billion in the March 2024 quarter. Interest expenses make up 28 percent of income payable in the latest quarter, and 14 percent in the September 2021 quarter when interest paid was at its lowest level in the series ($3.0 billion).
Businesses have taken on more debt and reduced their inventories to fund the difference between income and outgoings. The last year has seen three of the four highest quarters in the series for new borrowing, with $18.4 billion of new borrowing in the year ended March 2024. Over the same period, net inventories declined $5.2 billion reflecting businesses using or selling inventories without fully replacing stocks.
These statistics represent all non-financial businesses and may not reflect the specific circumstances of any individual business.
