Top European Corporate R&D to Increase 5 Pct a Year

(Investor.gov)

Leading R&D investing companies based in the EU expect their global research and development investments to grow by five percent annually from 2011 to 2013, according to a survey released today by the European Commission in Brussels. The findings by the EC’s Joint Research Centre are based on survey responses from 205 mainly larger companies in the EU’s Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard of 1000 European enterprises.

The anticipated 5 percent growth rate is double last year’s expected R&D investment rate by these companies. It also represents a reversal of the anticipated 2.6 percent cut in R&D expenditures planned in 2009.

The respondents say they conduct about a quarter of their R&D outside Europe, with 13 percent investing in R&D operations in the U.S. and Canada. The companies report spending about 2-3 percent each in China, India, and other European countries. Most respondents identified their home countries as the most attractive location for R&D, followed by the U.S., China, Germany, and India.

Companies in the survey say on average 27 percent of their annual sales came from innovative products and services introduced in the past three years. Enterprises in high R&D intensity sectors (e.g., pharmaceuticals, electronics) attribute on average 40 percent of their sales from these products and services.

Respondents, particularly those in the high R&D intensity sectors, credit the availability of skilled workers and public financial incentives (e.g., grants, subsidies) as factors encouraging R&D by the companies. Costs, time, and conditions related to intellectual property regulations were cited most often as discouraging factors. However, companies in the high R&D intensity sectors place more importance on licensing discoveries from universities and other companies.

Read more: Worldwide Corporate R&D Drops, Pharma/Biotech Bucks Trend

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