(Business in Cameroon) – The National Institute of Statistics (INS) released a summary on Tuesday, September 10, 2024, detailing the economic and financial status of businesses in Cameroon for 2023.
Although revenue growth was modest, increasing by just 0.9% compared to a 20% surge in 2022, certain sectors played a key role in generating cumulative profits. The INS noted that the sectors driving this profit growth were the “Cocoa, Coffee, Tea, and Sugar Industry,” “Information and Communication,” and “Financial and Insurance Activities.”
Despite these sectoral successes, the INS highlighted that 22 out of 38 business sectors remained in deficit in 2023, with 19 of them already facing deficits in 2022. However, overall business activity still yielded profits, with revenue rising by 0.9% and the profit margin rate improving to 4.5%, a 0.2 percentage point increase from 2022. According to the INS, “the continuous improvement in overall profitability since 2019 shows that every franc in revenue is generating more and more profit for businesses.”
Regarding value added (VA), 86.3% of companies recorded a positive VA in 2023, slightly down from 87.1% in 2022. Total VA saw a minimal increase of just 0.1%, following a strong 14.8% growth in the previous year. The value-added rate slightly declined from 26.2% to 26.0%.
The INS report is based on a sample of 1,091 statistical and fiscal declarations (DSF) from representative businesses across various sectors. This sample accounted for 98% of total revenue and 75% of permanent jobs in 2023, according to the INS.
