Local Firms Expect Strong Year of Sales

Ventura County companies expect the economic boom to continue and envision even higher profit margins in 2000, according to a survey released Friday by City National Bank.

Two-thirds of the participants in the bank’s annual survey said they expected higher sales this year, and 58% said they expected profit margins to also improve. Although confidence is at a record high, companies did report some slowing in sales, with 59% reporting higher sales in 1999 than the year before. That compares with 64% in 1998 and 62% in 1997.

Only 3% of those surveyed expected lower sales in 2000, and only 7% anticipated lower profits.

Simi Valley companies were the most optimistic about their fortunes in 2000, with 97% giving the county a high economic ranking. Ventura companies were the least, with only 79% ranking the economy between 6 and 10 on a 10-point scale.

Camarillo companies reported the highest sales, with 67% posting higher sales than the year before, followed by Westlake Village, Ventura, Oxnard, Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks, with 54%.

A majority of companies expected hiring to remain stable through the next year, but 38% said they expected to increase their staffs--a 10% increase over responses from last year.

City National Bank mailed 20,000 questionnaires to companies in a variety of fields and asked them to rate the condition of the county’s economy and to describe the performance and outlook of their companies. The bank received 512 responses.

The majority of Ventura County’s companies are considered small businesses, with 55% having annual sales under $500,000 and 37% with sales of $500,000 to $5 million.