Chart of the Day: 2 in 10 Singapore private firms churned out losses in 2012

Is it good news?

According to MoM, although economic conditions weakened in 2012, slightly over eight in ten (82%) private establishments were profitable, unchanged from a year ago.

This proportion remained higher than during the recessionary years in 2009 (79%) and 2001 (65%). Generally, the proportion of loss-making firms has been trending downward over the last decade.

Here's more from the MoM report:

The distribution of establishments by profit status was fairly similar in the last two years.

In 2012, about half (49%) of private establishments either outperformed (Category A) or were as profitable as in the preceding year (Category B), comparable to 2011 (50%).

Establishments that were profitable but did not do as well as in the previous year (Category C) rose marginally from 32% to 33%.

The share of loss-making establishments (Category D) was unchanged at 18%.