South Africa · Governance
What South Africa’s 2024 business accounts show across nine industries
Turnover rose in eight of the nine industries covered by South Africa’s Annual Financial Statistics survey. The same survey shows how purchases, employment costs and capital expenditure changed, with large differences across industries.
Sources checked
Employment costs increased across the nine industries. Construction recorded the largest rise, at 20.5%.
Turnover and purchases grew at different rates
Total turnover rose 5.5% to R15.66 trillion, while purchases rose 3.2% to R9.68 trillion. Mining and quarrying’s turnover fell by 2.1% even as purchases rose by 4.8%. To assess profitability, a company would also need other expenses, taxes and finance costs. Source 1
The survey measures employment costs in rand
Employment costs increased by 12.3% for the covered sectors. Construction’s 20.5% was followed by mining and quarrying at 19.2%. Employment cost can increase because of pay, workforce size or a different mix of jobs. The series alone cannot distinguish those effects. Source 1
Capital expenditure and asset value can move apart
For electricity, gas and water, capital expenditure increased 49.7% while the carrying value of the relevant assets fell 5.8%. Capital expenditure records purchases or investment over a period. Carrying value also reflects depreciation, disposals, impairment and other accounting changes. Source 1
Industry scope affects who can use the benchmark
Stats SA surveys formal enterprises and publishes aggregates for the industries it covers. The business-services row includes real estate and auxiliary financial activities, with direct financial intermediation and insurance excluded. Industry growth rates are benchmarks for groups of businesses rather than outcomes for individual firms. Source 1 Source 2