FleetNews reported that Leaseurope, the representative body of the European leasing and automotive rental industry, together with Invigors EMEA, the specialist international equipment leasing and asset finance consultancy, have published results of the December 2011 Leaseurope/Invigors European Business Confidence Survey.

As reported, this joint Leaseurope/Invigors survey measures the expectations of European leasing professionals over the coming six months and is a continuation of the confidence survey run by Invigors since 2008.

The report also states that  according to the December 2011 findings, the perspective from asset finance professionals across Europe is one of caution in what is likely to be a challenging business environment for the first half of 2012.

The report indicates that according to the survey 54% of those surveyed still expect new business volumes in the first six months of 2012 to increase, which is still significantly higher than the slump in expectations relating to volumes reported in the April 2009 survey during the midst of recession. Similarly, just under half (49%) of participants anticipate that their business’s net profit will grow. The results also show that 43% of those taking part in the survey forecast margins will increase in the next six months, a figure that is nearly double the level of 23% recorded in the previous two surveys.