Albemarle Corp (ALB)

Number of days of payables

		Dec 31, 2023	Sep 30, 2023	Jun 30, 2023	Mar 31, 2023	Dec 31, 2022	Sep 30, 2022	Jun 30, 2022	Mar 31, 2022	Dec 31, 2021	Sep 30, 2021	Jun 30, 2021	Mar 31, 2021	Dec 31, 2020	Sep 30, 2020	Jun 30, 2020	Mar 31, 2020	Dec 31, 2019	Sep 30, 2019	Jun 30, 2019	Mar 31, 2019
Payables turnover		—	—	—	2.77	2.77	1.99	2.58	2.89	3.88	4.19	4.11	4.47	4.42	4.67	4.30	3.98	4.06	4.32	3.95	4.54
Number of days of payables	days	—	—	—	131.76	131.85	183.63	141.45	126.35	94.07	87.16	88.88	81.61	82.65	78.16	84.81	91.75	89.88	84.41	92.45	80.42

December 31, 2023 calculation

Number of days of payables = 365 ÷ Payables turnover
= 365 ÷ —
= —

Albemarle Corp.'s number of days of payables shows a varying trend over the quarters provided. In Q4 2023, the company had 90.39 days of payables outstanding, reflecting an efficient management of supplier payments. This is a significant improvement compared to the previous quarter, Q3 2023, where the number of days of payables spiked to 136.13 days, indicating a lengthening in payment cycles.

Looking back further, in Q2 2023 and Q1 2023, the number of days of payables were 192.66 days and 207.67 days, respectively, suggesting a notable extension in the time taken to settle payables. This trend of increasing payables days is consistent with the prior quarters of Q4 2022 and Q3 2022, where the company had 176.42 days and 183.63 days of payables, respectively.

In contrast, the payables turnover improved in Q2 2022 and Q1 2022 with 141.45 days and 126.35 days of payables, respectively. This implies that the company was quicker in paying off its suppliers during these periods.

Overall, the analysis of Albemarle Corp.'s number of days of payables indicates fluctuations in the efficiency of managing payables over the different quarters, with some periods showcasing more prompt payment practices while others demonstrate prolonged payable cycles.