High electricity prices are expected to lead to large reductions

Export companies with operations in Sweden see a bleak future now that energy prices are rising sharply.

Over 500 Swedish industrial companies had to answer how they are affected by the high electricity prices.

Almost seven out of ten companies state that they have been negatively affected and that profitability has become worse.

Half of Sweden's export companies are considering canceling planned investments and around a third are considering reducing staff.

- So far, we have seen that the companies have handled it well.

But when you look ahead, you see that profitability is affected very negatively.

It can have major consequences.

You may have to cut back on staff and postpone investments to the future, says Lena Sellgren, chief economist at Business Sweden.

An increasing proportion is expected to be phased out

In the next three months, stronger measures are expected to be taken, where almost 30 percent of the companies are expected to cut back on staff and nearly 50 percent are putting planned investments on hold.

For the worst affected export companies, the situation is so pressing that they are expected to wind down their operations.

"A small but increasing proportion of companies, 7 percent, are expected to wind down parts of their operations in Sweden," writes Business Sweden in the report.

In 2021, Swedish exports were worth SEK 1,496 billion.