Decline in services revenue in Singapore eases to -7.9% in Q4

THE decline in service businesses' revenues eased in the fourth quarter of 2020, according to data from the Department of Statistics' (Singstat) Business Receipts Index on Friday.

Business receipts fell by 7.9 per cent compared to the same period a year ago. But this marked an improvement from the third quarter's decline, which was revised to -10.2 per cent - worse than the -9.5 per cent earlier reported. This brought the full year's revenue decline to -8.3 per cent, compared to growth of 3.2 per cent in 2019, and 7.5 per cent in 2018.

In the fourth quarter, larger declines were recorded by businesses in the recreation and personal services industry (-37.6 per cent), as well as in transportation and storage (-22.4 per cent), compared to the year before. Travel restrictions continued to weigh on the attractions, gaming and air transport segments in these industries.

Revenues in administrative and support services also fell 22.5 per cent, a decline which Singstat attributed mainly to firms that rent and lease machinery to the construction and air transport industries.

On the other hand, turnover in the information and communications services industry grew 12.1 per cent, as business thrived for software publishers, including gaming firms.

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On a quarter-on-quarter, non-seasonally adjusted basis, overall receipts grew by 7.9 per cent in the fourth quarter, following the third quarter's growth of 5.5 per cent. All industries reported higher revenues in the fourth quarter, compared to the preceding three months.

Revenues jumped 15.4 per cent in the professional services industry, compared to 5.6 per cent in the preceding quarter. Architectural and engineering firms, as well as business and management consultancies, were among those which reported increased demand for their services.

The information and communications industry also clocked stronger revenue growth of 15.3 per cent compared to 5.3 per cent in the third quarter, as demand increased for information service activities such as web hosting.

As visitor capacity rules eased for local attractions, revenues rose 10.6 per cent in the recreation and personal services industry. This builds on the sizeable 136.5 per cent growth that the industry recorded in the previous quarter when Singapore emerged from "circuit-breaker" restrictions which had left attractions shuttered.

The Business Receipts Index for the services industries - which exclude wholesale and retail trade, as well as accommodation and food services - measures short-term changes in the amount of business or operating receipts on a quarterly basis. It is compiled at current prices.