Telecommunication Utilities

Sector Payment Analysis: Telecommunication utilities

An in-depth analysis of payment behaviour within the Telecommunication utilities sector reveals a somewhat bifurcated landscape amongst the 13 companies sampled. The data indicates a notable discrepancy between the mean and median figures, suggesting that a minority of poor performers are skewing the overall average. Whilst the arithmetic mean payment time sits at 35.8 days, the median is noticeably lower at 29 days. This 6.8-day gap highlights that the ‘typical’ company in this sector settles invoices faster than the average would suggest. However, with a standard deviation of 23.2 days, there is significant volatility in the dataset. This implies that whilst the centre of the distribution is healthy, suppliers cannot necessarily rely on a uniform payment schedule across the industry, and individual credit checks remain essential.

When we organise the data by payment speed buckets, it becomes evident that the majority of organisations favour prompt settlement. Specifically, 53.8% of the entities fall into the ‘Fast’ category (0-30 days), and a further 30.8% are classified as ‘Moderate’ (31-45 days). Consequently, nearly 85% of the sector operates within a respectable 45-day window. The interquartile range of 15 days—spanning from the 25th percentile at 25 days to the 75th percentile at 40 days—reinforces this cluster of reasonable performance. Vendors should realise that whilst the core of the sector performs well, the performance breakdown shows that 13.2% of payments are classified as late, necessitating a robust credit control strategy.

The analysis exposes extreme disparities at the edges of the distribution which warrant close attention. On one hand, the sector boasts impressive top performers, with three companies settling debts in under 20 days and the fastest payer clearing funds in just 9 days. In stark contrast, the presence of critical outliers—specifically one entity taking 107 days to pay—demonstrates a severe lapse in liquidity or operational efficiency. This single poor performer represents 7.7% of the sample but disproportionately impacts the sector’s aggregate metrics. The gap between the fastest and slowest payer is nearly 100 days; such a vast range indicates that suppliers must not assume financial stability based solely on sector reputation.

Finally, the geographic distribution of this sample is heavily weighted towards the South, with the commercial centre of London (6 companies) and the South East (4 companies) accounting for over 76% of the businesses analysed. Consequently, the data largely reflects payment cultures prevalent in and around the capital. In summary, whilst the majority of the Telecommunication utilities sector displays responsible payment behaviour, the volatility indicated by the high standard deviation cannot be ignored. Suppliers are advised to incentivise early payment where possible to maintain the favourable terms seen in the lower quartiles, whilst remaining vigilant against the minority of firms drifting into the critical 90+ day payment window.