The phrase you provided refers to a situation where a business is facing higher operating costs, which are the expenses required to run the business on a day-to-day basis. These costs can include salaries, rent, utilities, raw materials, and other expenses.
When the operating costs are high, the business needs to set higher prices for its products or services in order to maintain its profit margins. Profit margins are the difference between the cost of providing a product or service and the price at which it is sold. If the costs are high and the business doesn’t raise prices accordingly, the profits will decrease.
In simple terms, if it costs a business more to operate, it must charge customers more to keep making a profit.