Waikato Innovation Park companies show buoyancy

Survey results of Waikato Innovation Park companies show buoyancy

Companies situated within the Waikato Innovation Park – the vast majority of which are directly or indirectly working in New Zealand’s agricultural sector – are reporting significant financial growth.

Waikato Innovation Park’s recent survey of its 34 tenant companies reported collective turnover of the respondents1 is up 18% from one year ago.

Seventy-nine percent (79%) of the companies surveyed reported some financial growth, with an average of 33% growth.

Thirty-three of the 34 Innovation Park companies who responded to the annual company survey collectively reported gross turnover of over $188 million. This is up from approximately $160 million just one year ago.

“Eleven of our companies have turnover greater than $3 million – which is one more company than reported sitting at this level last year. Fifty-six percent (56%) have turnover between $250,000 and $3 million, up from 48% last year,” said Waikato Innovation Park CEO, Stuart Gordon.

“Only three of our companies have turnover of less than $250,000, which is an 8% drop from last year’s survey results,” explained Mr Gordon. “All-in-all, the companies here at Waikato Innovation Park are doing really well. Revenues are growing and they are generally achieving this with the same number or fewer staff.”

In January 2013, surveyed companies employed 1213 staff. Those same companies now employ 1183 staff, 421 of which are based at the Waikato Innovation Park. Sixty percent (60%) of the surveyed companies have less than 10 full time employees, down from 62% one year ago.

“Finding the right staff is difficult for many of our companies, with one out of every five companies (21%) identifying staff recruitment as a major challenge,” said Mr Gordon.

While the Waikato Innovation Park companies are growing their revenues, slightly less of that turnover is reportedly coming from exports. Seventy-nine percent (79%) of the survey respondents are actively exporting, which is down slightly from 83% this same time last year.

“Of those companies exporting, the United States has gained ground as a trading destination. Fifteen percent (15%) of our exporters are doing business in the States, which is up from eight percent (8%) last year,” said Stuart Gordon. “Surprisingly, China now only represents six percent (6%) of our exporters’ total markets, which is down from nine percent (9%) last year.”

Twenty-three percent (23%) of Innovation Park exporters trade with Australia, which has grown from 14% one year ago. Europe has also grown from 19% to 25%.

“A delightful surprise in the results was that over 75% of respondents are actively engaged in research and development of new products or services. This is up significantly from fifty-eight percent (58%) just one year ago,” said Mr Gordon.

-ENDS-

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