Despite their stable positions, Hungarian SMEs are still a little pessimistic

K&H’s SME confidence index monitors the outlook of Hungarian SMEs.

This article is available for reading in Trade magazin 2025/2-3.

In the 4th quarter of 2024 the index dropped to the summer level. The survey’s results suggest that Hungarian SME managers are in a more negative mood again, with the index returning to -11 points, which represents a 3-point drop from the previous quarter. Change in sentiment is most noticeable among the executives of companies with sales revenues of between HUF 300m and HUF 2bn: among them the index was down at -7 from the 5 points of the previous quarter, with a significant 12-point plunge.

Ildikó Oraveczné Németh, head of retail and SME segment marketing at K&H:

“The reason for the gloom – even if economic conditions are stable – lies in the expectations regarding social security contributions. Almost two-thirds of SMEs expect these burdens to increase”.

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