More than half of senior executives of IT companies in Europe, the Middle East and Africa expect a recovery in the IT market to take place only next year.
This is one of the findings of a report by specialist technology group Eurocom PR Network, which surveyed 147 executives in 12 countries in Europe and the Middle East, as well as SA.
Of the respondents, 46% expect an overall recovery in the technology markets by the end of this year. Another 52% believe recovery will take place some time next year, with the remaining 2% unsure.
The survey shows 32% of executives believe recovery will be delayed until the first quarter of next year, 9% think the market will recover in the second quarter, while 11% predict a recovery in the second half of next year.
While the majority of respondents believe the war in Iraq will delay recovery, there are indications that the technology market may be over the worst.
Of the respondents, 54% expect an increase in revenues over the next six months, while 34% expect them to stay the same. Just 11% expect a decline in revenue.
The survey also shows that half of respondents expect employment levels to be static in the next six months. A third expect jobs to increase while 16% expect more cuts.
Meanwhile, war sentiment in the US turned from positive to cautious yesterday as fears grow that Iraqi forces may mount fierce resistance in defence of their capital city, Baghdad. Dealers say the US markets were also affected by the release of weak employment data.
The rally of the past few days came to a halt as investors took profits yesterday. The Nasdaq composite index lost 0.14 points or 0.01% to 1 396.58 while the Dow Jones Industrial average closed 45 points or 0.54% down at 8 240. The S&P 500 index lost four points or 0.46% to finish at 876.
Telecoms outlook
Reuters reports that shares of large US telecommunications service providers also weakened yesterday as some Wall Street analysts scaled back growth expectations and voiced concerns about pension liabilities and competitive pressures.
Morgan Stanley cut its view on the industry to "cautious" from "in line", while several other brokerage firms this week trimmed their earnings forecasts for 2003 and 2004 for the Baby Bells and long-distance telephone companies.
In SA, however, Telkom was unaffected by the mood offshore and was unchanged at R30 this morning. While this is off its highest close of R30.30, it is comfortably above its listing price of R28.
The JSE followed the American markets this morning, and was down 80 points at 7 843 by 10.51am. The IT index was down 13.53 points or 0.39% at 3 488.65. The IT hardware sector, which has had a good time of it lately, was unchanged at 224.69. The software and computer services sector was down 0.34 points or 0.48% at 70.69.
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