IT and telecoms services companies have continued to grow and
remain profitable, despite the downturn that has hit the services
industry as a whole, according to the
Confederation of British Industry (CBI).
A CBI survey of more than 140 UK professional services companies
in the past three months found that profitability fell at a record
rate for consumer services companies and was flat for business
services firms.
Ian McCafferty, chief economic advisor at the CBI, said the IT
and telecoms sector had seen "a run of strong profitability
growth".
The report attributed the better performance of the IT and
telecoms service firms to "aggressive cuts in selling prices" and
"fast rises in volumes and values of business".
The CBI survey report said neither consumer nor business service
firms were positive about business expansion in 2008 and were
concerned about their ability to raise external finance.
The only exceptions were marketing companies and travel
companies. McCafferty said travel companies had reported a healthy
demand for holidays in the past three months and marketing firms
were going from strength to strength.