Compared with performance a year ago, the average Australian SME manufacturer brought in 16 per cent less revenue in Q4 2024—down from $598,059 to $500,590.
Total average sales revenue for 2024 was $2.127 million, only marginally higher than 2023’s $2.122 million.
Viewed as a 12-month rolling average, Q4 2024’s sales represented a flattening of an overall rising trend. All sectors recorded a drop in sales in Q4 with the exception of sport, entertainment and recreation manufacturers.
With an average of 211 purchase orders issued in Q4 2024, Australian SME manufacturers reverted to their normal buying cadence for the year, a likely leading indicator of steady sales in 2025—despite the 31 per cent drop in purchase order number against the previous quarter’s dramatic spike, Unleashed said in a report.
Overall, the 12-month rolling average of purchasing activity across all sectors trended negative for Australia, dropping by 2.6 per cent.
Average delivery times increased from 16 to 19 days, matching the UK trend and pointing to a slow-down in international shipping times. With Q3 2024 sales chewing through stock levels, Australian firms ran their warehouses lean in Q4, which will have buyers carefully monitoring lead times.
Any further shipping slowdown could see factories caught short, with insufficient stock to meet production demand on some lines, cautioned the report.
With overstock low, gross profit return on inventory investment shot back up to an average return of $2.91 return per dollar invested in stock in Q4 2024 versus $1.92 in Q3.
Despite the recent improvement, average profitability has been in overall decline in Australian manufacturing against a background of rising raw material costs relative to overall sales.
ALCHEMPro News Desk (DS)
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