Corporate America taking longer to collect: study

By Scott Malone

BOSTON (Reuters) - Corporate America is having the hardest time getting its customers to pay their bills since the last U.S. recession in 2001, according to a study released on Wednesday.

The 1,000 largest U.S. public companies in 2007 took 41 days on average to collect payments from their customers, up from 39.7 days a year earlier and 39.2 days in 2001, the study by consultancy REL and CFO Magazine found.

The change reflects customers who are trying to guard their cash flow in the face of a global credit crunch and suppliers who are scrambling to grow their revenue in the face of slowing demand in many industries, the consultants said.

"There is pressure from people just looking to pay their bills later," said Peter Rabjohns, senior director at REL, a consulting company that focuses on cash flow. "Longer terms are being given to make sales. Obviously that's a dangerous situation when you have the credit crisis."

The analysis is based on data available in public filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and excludes the Detroit automakers because their results have historically been unusually volatile, REL said. The analysis was conducted from April through August.

TOBACCO HARDEST HIT

The hardest-hit industry was tobacco. Makers of cigarettes and other tobacco products, including Altria Group Inc and UST Inc, saw a 30 percent surge to a median of 26 days to collect.

Next came the oil, gas and consumable fuels industry -- such companies as Exxon Mobil Corp and Chevron Corp -- with the sector up 21 percent to 42 days.