Charles River Laboratories (CRL)

Working capital turnover

		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
Revenue (ttm)	US$ in thousands	4,097,200	4,325,190	4,303,632	4,238,180	4,106,274	3,792,022	3,683,743	3,605,712	3,459,843	3,333,185	3,172,755	2,930,880	2,859,828	2,759,976	2,697,739	2,671,095	2,595,709	2,506,101	2,411,563	2,341,443
Total current assets	US$ in thousands	1,608,660	1,444,320	1,504,780	1,448,360	1,439,030	1,415,350	1,393,090	1,333,090	1,274,100	1,379,040	1,267,910	1,423,210	1,201,130	1,140,270	1,234,720	1,208,280	1,021,320	972,407	1,010,060	866,182
Total current liabilities	US$ in thousands	1,055,080	993,816	1,007,620	981,392	1,091,580	1,014,190	1,048,140	993,839	1,033,180	983,751	929,610	803,376	839,751	787,014	727,936	690,896	710,181	681,646	635,598	529,759
Working capital turnover		7.40	9.60	8.66	9.08	11.82	9.45	10.68	10.63	14.36	8.43	9.38	4.73	7.91	7.81	5.32	5.16	8.34	8.62	6.44	6.96

December 31, 2023 calculation

Working capital turnover = Revenue (ttm) ÷ (Total current assets – Total current liabilities)
= $4,097,200K ÷ ($1,608,660K – $1,055,080K)
= 7.40

The working capital turnover ratio for Charles River Laboratories fluctuated over the past few quarters. The ratio indicates how efficiently the company is utilizing its working capital to generate sales revenue. Higher ratios are generally preferable as they suggest that the company is effectively using its current assets to support its sales activity.

Looking at the trend, the working capital turnover ratio peaked at 14.36 at the end of December 2021, indicating that the company was able to generate sales revenue 14.36 times using its working capital during that period. This suggests a high level of operating efficiency.

However, the ratio subsequently decreased to 4.73 in March 2021 before gradually recovering and showing fluctuations throughout 2022 and 2023. Despite the fluctuations, the ratios remained relatively healthy, with values mostly above 5, indicating that the company was still efficiently utilizing its working capital to support its sales activities.

Overall, the working capital turnover ratio for Charles River Laboratories shows variability but generally indicates efficient management of working capital to support revenue generation over the periods analyzed. Further analysis and comparison with industry benchmarks could provide additional insights into the company's performance in this area.