CM December DECEMBER 2018

PAYMENT TRENDS
BAH HUMBUG
The latest monthly business to business payment
performance statistics.
AUTHOR – Jason Braidwood FCICM(Grad)
TIS the season to be jolly, or is it? Last month
saw signs of encouragement as the average
Days Beyond Terms (DBT) figures across
regions and sectors fell back into line
following a blip the month before.
This month, however, things have
fluctuated again, and not in a good way. The average DBT
figures across regions and sectors are on the up again, to
16.0 days and 15.9 days respectively.
SECTOR SPOTLIGHT
The table does not make for particularly pleasant reading
this month, with only five sectors showing improvement.
It has, however, been an encouraging month for the
Energy Supply sector, posting the biggest improvement
across the board with a reduction of 4.0 days and with
that moving off the bottom of the table. Not too far
behind are Wholesale and Retail Trade and Real Estate,
which have reduced their DBT scores by 3.0 and 2.5 days.
It has also been a successful month for Agriculture,
Forestry and Fishing and Public Administration, which
have all reduced their DBT. Hospitality remains at the
top of the table with a DBT of 9.8 days despite a slight
increase.
At the opposite end of the scale, it has been a very
poor month for both International Bodies and Business
from Home, with increases of 6.5 up to 18.6 and 5.9 up
to 19.2 DBT. Meanwhile, Business Admin and Support
continues to slip down the rankings, with DBT now up to
18.7 days. Mining and Quarrying (17.4 DBT), Real Estate
(17.2 DBT) and Financial and Insurance (16.8 DBT) are all
moving in the wrong direction. It has also been another
disappointing month for Professional and Scientific,
now sitting rock bottom with a DBT of 21.6 days.
REGIONAL SPOTLIGHT
The regional standings are also a cause for concern,
with Scotland the only region to show improvement,
reducing their DBT to 16.0 days and ending their lengthy
stint at the bottom of the table. Things only get worse for
London however, with their DBT increasing a further 4.5
up to a worrying 20.7 days.
Elsewhere, the South East, which topped the table
last month with a DBT of 9.7, has experienced a sharp
increase up to 14.4 days. Similarly, Yorkshire and
Humberside’s DBT has jumped from 9.8 to 14.2 days,
demonstrating the fluctuation in regional performance
on a month-by-month basis.
Perhaps it is not the time to panic, but it is a concern
to see the majority of sectors and regions moving in
the wrong direction when it comes to late payments,
especially on the back of an encouraging last month.
Ongoing uncertainty looks like it is here to stay for the
foreseeable future, so will we have to wait and see how
things fare as we enter the New Year and edge closer
towards the dreaded Brexit deadline.
Jason Braidwood FCICM(Grad),
Head of Credit and Collections at Creditsafe Business
Solutions.
Getting Better
-4.0 Energy Supply
-3.0 Wholesale & Storage
-2.5 Transportation & Storage
-1.1 Agriculture
-0.7 Public Administration
Getting Worse
6.5 International Bodies
5.9 Business from Home
3.3 Health & Social
3.0 Other Service
2.4 Water & Waste
Top Five Prompter Payers
Top Five Prompter Payers Oct 18 Change from Sep 18
South West 13.8 1.9
Yorkshire and Humberside 14.2 4.4
South East 14.4 4.7
West Midlands 14.7 1.9
East Anglia 14.7 0.3
Top Five Prompter Payers
Region Oct 18 Change from Sep 18
Hospitality 9.8 0.8
Entertainment 11.7 2.0
Education 12.6 1.4
Public Administration 12.9 -0.7
Wholesale and retail trade 13.1 -3.0
Bottom Five Poorest Payers
Bottom Five Poorest Payers Oct 18 Change from Sep 18
London 20.7 4.5
North West 17.6 3.7
Northern Ireland 17.5 1.9
East Midlands 16.5 3.0
Scotland 16.0 -0.3
Bottom Five Poorest Payers
Region Oct 18 Change from Sep 18
Professional and Scientific 21.6 2.6
Business from Home 19.2 5.9
Business Admin & Support 18.7 1.1
International Bodies 18.6 6.5
Mining and Quarrying 17.4 1.0
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / December 2018 / PAGE 36