Nearly half of Philippine CEOs said profitability takes a big hit whenever lockdowns are imposed, a new survey released Monday found. 

Forty-two percent of the CEOs say that their average daily sales/revenues decline by at least 20 percent each time the country is placed under lockdowns.

This was according to a poll conducted from July to August = by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC Philippines) and Management Association of the Philippines (MAP), a business group.

Nevertheless, 74 percent say that their revenues will grow in the next 12 months—higher than 63 percent as polled in April and May this year.

For the country’s economy, the top key growth drivers for CEOs are infrastructure development (61 percent), domestic consumption (54 percent), and government spending (52 percent). 

Meanwhile, half of them think that the economy will recover after two to three years. 

Survey results showed the CEOs identified the slow vaccine rollout, political uncertainty, and reliance on lockdowns as the major factors that may delay the Philippine economy’s recovery.

“To support their businesses, the majority of the CEOs tapped external debt and additional capital from both their personal funds and existing investors in the past year. Going forward, the majority of the CEOs still plan to tap external debt and/or equity to help their businesses,” MAP President Aurelio Montinola III said.