09 November 2009
Automotive businesses improve the time it takes to pay their bills
During September, the number of days that automotive businesses were paying their bills late fell to the lowest point since July 2008, according to the latest Late Payment Index from Experian®, the global information services company.
Automotive businesses were paying their bills 4.7 per cent faster, from 16.66 days beyond agreed terms in August to 15.88 days in September. The year-on-year comparison also revealed a 4.2 per cent fall (from 22.82 days in September 2008).
This is the quickest that the automotive industry has paid its bills since July 2008, when automotive businesses were paying their bills 15.75 day beyond agreed terms.
Overall, the automotive industry was among the sectors to pay its bills the fastest, ranking fourth after the agriculture/forestry/fishing, oil and servicing/repair sectors.
Mark Nuttall, General Manager of Experian’s Automotive business, said: “Considering the increase in the number of businesses that have failed in this sector in September, this is a more positive picture of how businesses that are still trading fared during September. Payment performance is a vitally important as an indicator of a business’s cash flow and a good history of payment is considered favourable when it comes to supporting credit scores and limits.”