CONTENT

1. Introduction2-9

Manufacturing Sector

Working Capital Management

Format of Working Capital

Importance of Working Capital Management

Effect of Working Capital Management on profitability

2. Details of Companies......10-17

Indian Cement Industry

ACC Limited

Ultratech Cement

JK Cement

JP Cement

3. Literature Review...18-22
4. Rationale of Study..23-24
5. Objective of Study..25-26
6. Methodology...27-41

The Study

The Sample

The Tools
Tools for Data Collection
Tools and techniques Data Analysis

Method

Correlation Analysis and Ratio Analysis

7. Findings42-43
8. Recommendations44-45
9. Conclusion46-47
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10. References48-49

INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION
MANUFACTURING SECTOR
Witnessing a wave of growth, the Indian manufacturing sector is thought to be much more
promising in the future. The sector is poised to get more skill-intensive according to industry
leaders who foresee India map new heights of progress in every aspect. The country is
increasingly getting recognized for high value goods requiring a fair amount of engineering
precision and quality. The sector is diversifying due to conditions on the ground that global
players are using to their advantage.
India ranked second in terms of manufacturing competence, according to report '2010 Global
Manufacturing Competitiveness Index', by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu and the US Council on
Competitiveness. The report states that the country's talent pool of scientists, researchers, and
engineers, together with its English-speaking workforce and democratic regime make it an
attractive destination for manufacturers.
Growth of the Indian manufacturing sector during the quarter ended March 31, 2011 was 5.1 per
cent, according to the report on "World Manufacturing Production Quarter I, 2011" by the United
Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). The manufacturing sector, which
accounts for almost 80 per cent of the index, saw its annual growth at 8.1 per cent in 2010-11.
Manufacturing is the use of machines, tools and labor to produce goods for use or sale. The term
may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech, but is most commonly
applied to industrial production, in which raw materials are transformed into finished goods on a
large scale. Such finished goods may be used for manufacturing other, more complex products,
such as aircraft, household appliances or automobiles, or sold to wholesalers, who in turn sell
them to retailers, who then sell them to end users the "consumers".
Manufacturing Sector is a sector which is involved in process of manufacturing. The
manufacturing sector is closely connected with engineering and industrial design. The growth
rate of manufacturing sector in a country truly reflects its economic potentiality. Both
Government as well as the private sectors has come forward for the development of the

manufacturing sector of the country. More investments are being proposed in the sector
particularly in the growth rate of capital goods, consumer durables, and some non-durable goods.
WORKING CAPITAL MANAGEMENT
Assets in commercial firm consist of two kinds: fixed assets and current assets. Fixed assets
include land, building, plant, furniture, etc. Investment in these assets represents that of part of
firms capital, which is permanently blocked on a permanent or fixed basis and is also called
fixed capital that generates productive capacity. The form of these assets does not change, in the
normal course. In the contrast, current assets consist of raw materials, work-in-progress, finished
goods, bills receivables, cash, bank balance, etc. These assets are bought for the purpose of
production and sales, like raw material into semi-finished products, semi- finished products into
finished products, finished products into debtors and debtors turned over cash or bills
receivables.
The fixed assets are used in increasing production of an organization and the current assets are
utilized in using the fixed assets for day to day working. Therefore, the current assets, called
working capital, may be regarded as the lifeblood of a business enterprise. It refers to that part of
the firms capital, which is required for financing short-term.
The management of this working capital is known as working capital management. The basis
objective of working capital management is to manage firms current assets and current
liabilities, in such a way, that working capital are maintained, at a satisfactory level. The working
capital should be neither more nor less, but just adequate.
Working capital management plays an important role in a firms profitability and risk as well as
its value. There are a lot of reasons for the importance of working capital management. For a
typical manufacturing firm, the current assets account for over half of its total assets. For a
distribution company, they account for even more. Excessive levels of current assets can easily
result in a firms realizing a substandard return on investment.

Efficient management of working capital plays an important role of overall corporate strategy in
order to create shareholder value. Working capital is regarded as the result of the time lag
between the expenditure for the purchase of raw material and the collection for the sale of the
finished good. The way of working capital management can have a significant impact on both
the liquidity and profitability of the company. The main purpose of any firm is maximum the
profit
Working capital management involves planning and controlling current assets and current
liabilities in a manner that eliminates the risk of inability to meet due short term obligations on
the one hand and avoid excessive investment in these assets on the other hand. Working capital
management has become one of the most important issues in organization, where many financial
managers are finding it difficult to identify the important drivers of working capital and the
optimum level of working capital. As a result, companies can minimize risk and improve their
overall performance if they can understand the role and determinants of working capital. A firm
may choose an aggressive working capital management policy with a low level of current assets
as percentage of total assets, or it may also be used for the financing decisions of the firm in the
form of high level of current liabilities as percentage of total liabilities. Keeping an optimal
balance among each of the working capital components is the main objective of working capital
management.
Working capital management is important because maintaining a balance of income to debt can
be difficult and owners must be diligent to assure that it is kept. Sometimes it takes a little
assistance to maintain levels of fluidity or make major purchases. If working capital dips too low,
a business risks running out of cash. Even very profitable businesses can run into trouble if they
lose the ability to meet their short-term obligations.
Decisions relating to working capital and short term financing are referred to as working capital
management. These involve managing the relationship between a firm's short-term assets and its
short-term liabilities. The goal of working capital management is to ensure that the firm is able to
continue its operations and that it has sufficient cash flow to satisfy both maturing short-term
debt and upcoming operational expenses.
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Lastly, working capital management plays an important role in managerial enterprise, it may
impact to success or failure of firm in business because working capital management affect to the
profitability of the firm. The thesis is expected to contribute to better understanding of
relationship between working capital management and profitability in order to help managers
take a lot of solutions to create value for their shareholders.
WORKING CAPITAL
Working capital may be regarded as the life blood of a business. It is closely related with day-today operations of the business and so it is important for external as well as internal analysis.
Every business needs funds for two purposes. Long-term funds are required to create production
facilities through purchase of fixed assets e.g. plants, machinery, etc. Funds are also needed for
short-term purposes for the purpose of raw material, payment of wages and other day-to-day
expenses. These funds are also known as working capital. In other words, working capital
refers to that part of a firms capital which is required for financing short-term or current assets
e.g. cash, debtors, inventories, etc.
Working capital is absolutely vital for any business. Working capital is especially necessary for
those businesses with higher day-to-day expenditures and outflow of money. So what is Working
Capital? Simply we can say working capital is the money any business has on hand in order to
address everyday expenditures and future expansion that is vital to the growth of their business.
Working capital is the money most of the business use to pay things like additional new space,
advertising, & marketing, renovations, new equipment, paying bills and many more. Many
businesses have assets that they can generate cash for working capital. The assets that typically
are used to generate working capital are usually currently owned existing equipment. Business
like restaurants and hotels however can have a difficult time generating working capital from
these traditional sources. In addition to it they may require greater working capital than other
industries.

Meaning of Working Capital

Working capital is also known as current capital or circulating capital. One of the most difficult
problems faced is determination of the amount of working capital requirement at a particular
level of production. Hence, working capital management is an important function.
The term working capital is used in two different ways:

Gross Working Capital (or Total Working Capital) - The term refers to the firms
investment in all the current assets taken together. In other words the total investment in
all current assets is called gross working capital.
Current Assets are those which are required to meet day-to-day operations of the
organization and they are convertible into cash within a period of one year or within an
operation cycle. Current Assets includes cash, bank, debtor, B/R, stock and short-term
securities.

Net Working Capital - It refers to the difference between current assets and current
liabilities.
Current Liabilities are those claims which are expected to mature for payment within an
accounting year, like creditors, B/P, and outstanding expenses.

Definition of Working Capital

Working Capital can be simply defined as difference between Current Assets & Current
Liability.

Net working Capital= Current Assets Current Liabilities

Equity Working Capital = Current Assets- Current Liabilities- Long term debt

Format of Computation of Working Capital

Particulars

Amount

Amount

A] CURRENT ASSETS.
1. Raw material.
2. Work-in-progress.

xxxx
xxxx
xxxx
xxxx
xxxx
xxxx

3. Finished Goods.
4. Debtors.
5. Cash.
6.0ther current assets.
Total current assets

xxxx

B] CURRENT LIABILITIES.
1. Trade Creditors.
2.0utsandings expenses.

xxxx
xxxx
xxxx

3. Other current liabilities.

Total current liabilities
WORKING CAPITAL (A-B)

xxxx
xxxx

IMPORTANCE OF WORKING CAPITAL MANAGEMENT

Every firm is required to maintain a sound working capital position. The investment in working
capital should be balanced. Therefore, it is necessary that the firm should manage working capital
properly. It is the responsibility of financial manager to determine the level and composition of
current assets.
Following are the important aspects of working capital management:

Working capital management requires much of the financial managers time.

Working capital represents a large portion of the total investment in assets.
Working capital management has greater significance for small firms.
The need for working capital is directly related to sales growth.

DETAILS OF THE COMPANIES

Here we are considering 5 Cement manufacturing companies for our study. These are ACC
Limited, JP Cements, JK Lakshmi Cements, Ultratech and Ambuja Cements.
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INDIAN CEMENT INDUSTRY

Indias cement industry has witnessed tremendous growth on the back of continuously rising
demand from the housing sector, increased activity in infrastructure, and construction boom,
according to RNCOS latest research report titled, Indian Cement Industry Forecast to 2012.
The countrys cement production is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate
(CAGR) of around 12 per cent during 2011-12 - 2013-14 to reach 303 million metric tonnes
(MMT), as per the RNCOS research report.
India is the second largest cement producing country with 137 large and 365 mini cement plants.
The large plants employ 120,000 people, according to a recent report on the Indian cement
industry published by Cement Manufacturers Association (CMA). Cement production in the
country is expected to increase to 315-320 million tonnes (MT) by end of this financial year from
the current 300 MT. The cement production touched 14.50 MT, while the cement dispatches
quantity was registered at 14.28 MT during April 2011, as per provisional data released by
Cement Manufacturers Association (CMA).
ACC LIMITED:
Company Profile
ACC Limited is Indias foremost cement manufacturer with a countrywide network of factories
and marketing offices. Established in 1936, ACC has been a pioneer and trend-setter in cement
and concrete technology. Among the first companies in India to include commitment to
environment protection as a corporate objective, ACC has won accolades for environment
friendly measures taken at its plants and mines, and has also been felicitated for its acts of good
corporate citizenship. ACC is the most preferred cement brand name in India.
ACC's operations are spread throughout the country with 16 modern cement factories, more than
40 Ready mix concrete plants, 21 sales offices, and several zonal offices. It has a workforce of
about 9,000 persons and a countrywide distribution network of over 9,000 dealers.

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Contribution
ACC has made significant contributions to the nation building process by way of quality
products, services and sharing expertise. Its commitment to sustainable development, its high
ethical standards in business dealings and its on-going efforts in community welfare programs
have won it acclaim as a responsible corporate citizen. ACCs brand name is synonymous with
cement and enjoys a high level of equity in the Indian market. It is the only cement company that
figures in the list of Consumer Super Brands of India.
Vision
To be one of the most respected companies in India; recognized for challenging conventions and
delivering on our promises.
Products
ACC manufactures the following types of cement, in addition to which, it provides Bulk Cement
and Ready Mix Concrete.
I.

II.

Ordinary Portland Cements

43 Grade Cement(OPC 43 Grade)
53 Grade Cement
Blended Cements
Fly-ash Portland Pozzolana Cements
Portland Slag Cement

AMBUJA CEMENTS
Company Profile
Ambuja Cements Ltd. (ACL) is one of the leading cement manufacturing companies in India.
The Company, initially called Gujarat Ambuja Cements Ltd., was founded by Narotam Sekhsaria
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in 1983 with a partner, Suresh Neotia. Sekhsarias business acumen and leadership skills put the
company on a fast track to growth. The Company commenced cement production in 1986. The
global cement major Holcim acquired management control of ACL in 2006. Holcim today holds
little over 46% equity in ACL. The Company is currently known as Ambuja Cements Ltd. ACL
has grown dynamically over the past decade. Its current cement capacity is about 25 million
tonnes. The Company has five integrated cement manufacturing plants and eight cement grinding
units across the country.
ACL has always met tough challenges and seized the opportunities that have come its way. It has
nurtured the same spirit of enterprise and search for cutting-edge technology with which it
started. It thus continues to be the driving force and in many ways a benchmark for the cement
industry in India.
Contribution
ACL enjoys a reputation of being one of the most efficient cement manufacturers in the world.
Its environment protection measures are on par with the finest in the country. It is one of the
most profitable and innovative cement companies in India. ACL is the first Indian cement
manufacturers to build a captive port with three terminals along the countrys western coastline
to facilitate timely, cost effective and environmentally cleaner shipments of bulk cement to its
customers. The Company has its own fleet of ships. ACL has also pioneered the development of
the multiple bio-mass co-fired technology for generating greener power in its captive plants.
Mission

Delighted Customers

Inspired Employees

Enlightened partners

Energised Society

Cleaner Environment- Pollution control

Cleaner Environment natural resources

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Safety

Products

Ordinary Portland Cement

Portland Pozzalana Cement

ULTRATECH CEMENT
Company Detail
UltraTech is India's largest exporter of cement clinker. The company's production facilities are
spread across eleven integrated plants, one white cement plant, one clinkerisation plant in UAE,
fifteen grinding units, and five terminals four in India and one in Sri Lanka. Most of the plants
have ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 certification. In addition, two plants have
received ISO 27001 certification and four have received SA 8000 certification. The process is
currently underway for the remaining plants. The company exports over 2.5 million tonnes per
annum, which is about 30 per cent of the country's total exports. The export market comprises of
countries around the Indian Ocean, Africa, Europe and the Middle East. Export is a thrust area in
the company's strategy for growth.
UltraTech Cement is the countrys largest exporter of cement clinker. The export markets span
countries

around

the

Indian

Ocean,

Africa,

Europe

and

the

Middle

East.

UltraTech's subsidiaries are Dakshin Cements Limited, Harish Cements Limited, UltraTech
Ceylinco (P) Limited and UltraTech Cement Middle East Investments Limited. UltraTech
Cement Limited has an annual capacity of 52 million tonnes.
Products

Ordinary Portland cement.

Portland Blast Furnace Slag Cement.
Portland Pozzalana Cement.
Ready Mix Concrete (RMC).

JK LAKSHMI CEMENT

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Company Profile
JK Lakshmi Cement manufacturing facility has been rated amongst Greenest Cement Plant of
India by CSE GRP 2005 thus highlighting our commitment to the environment even while
ensuring the highest standards of quality for our products. We have also won the Productivity
Excellence Award 2007-08, Energy Conservation Award 2008, NCB award 2007, Building
Leadership Award 2007, National Award for Environmental Excellence & Energy Management
2007, Golden Peacock Award for Corporate Social Responsibility 2007, ICWAI National Award
2007 for Excellence in Cost Management, The Pinnacle Cement 2006 award by Mitch Zee TV,
Green Tech Safety Award and a place of pride amongst the top ten companies in India in HR
practices.
Its wide network of 70 cement dumps and over 2200 dealers spread across the states of
Rajasthan, Gujarat, Delhi, Haryana, U.P., Uttaranchal, Punjab, J&K, Mumbai & Pune and the
vast pool of highly trained & dedicated marketing and technical service team helps the Company
to service its customers at their doorstep.
Contribution
The First Cement Manufacturer in Northern India to introduce coloured bags, JK Lakshmi
Cements Technical Service Cell provides construction solutions to its customers & carries out
regular & innovative contact programmes with Individual House Builders, Masons and Business
Associates to keep in tune with their needs and requirements.
An integral part of major projects like IGNP, Sardar Sarovar Dam, Golden Quadrilateral and
major corporations like L&T, Reliance, NTPC, Essar and Airport Authority of India, JK Lakshmi
Cement has become the preferred choice among the customers because of its consistency, high
level of quality and impeccable customer service.
Mission
To be recognized as an Efficient Competitive & Premium Cement Brand.

Products

Ready Mix Concrete (RMC) - JK Lakshmi Power Mix.

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Plaster of Paris (POP) - JK Lakshmiplast.

JP CEMENTS
Company Profile
Jaypee group is the 3rd largest cement producer in the country. The groups cement facilities are
located in the Satna Cluster (U.P), which has one of the highest cement production growth rates
in India.
The group produces special blend of Portland Pozzolana Cement under the brand name Jaypee
Cement (PPC). Its cement division currently operates modern, computerized process control
cement plants with an aggregate installed capacity of 26.20 MnTPA. The company is in the midst
of capacity expansion of its cement business in Northern, Southern, Central, Eastern and Western
parts of the country and is slated to be a 35.90 MnTPA by FY12 (expected) with Captive
Thermal Power plants totaling 672 MW.
Keeping pace with the advancements in the IT industry, all the 260 cement dumps are networked
using TDM/TDMA VSATs along with a dedicated hub to provide 24/7 connectivity between the
plants and all the 120 points of cement distribution in order to ensure track the truck
initiative and provide seamless integration. This initiative is the first of its kind in the cement
industry in India. In the near future, the group plans to expand its cement capacities via
acquisition and greenfield additions to maximize economies of scale and build on vision to focus
on large size plants from inception. The Group is committed towards the safety and health of
employees and the public.
Mission
Work For Safe, Healthy, Clean & Green Environment '.

Products

Portland Pozzalana Cement.

16

Ordinary Portland cement.

17

LITERATURE REVIEW

LITERATURE REVIEW

18

Shin & Soenen, 1998:-In intention to discover the relationship between efficient working capital
management and firms profitability used net-trade cycle (NTC) as a measure of working capital
management. NTC is basically equal to the CCC whereby all three components are expressed as
a percentage of sales. The reason by using NTC because it can be an easy device to estimate for
additional financing needs with regard to working capital expressed as a function of the projected
sales growth. This relationship is examined using correlation and regression analysis, by industry
and working capital intensity. Using a Compustat sample of 58,985 firm years covering the
period 1975-1994, in all cases, they found, a strong negative relation between the length of the
firm's net-trade cycle and its profitability. In addition, shorter NTC are associated with higher
risk-adjusted stock returns. In other word, (Shin & Soenen, 1998) suggest that one possible way
the firm to create shareholder value is by reducing firms NTC.
Lyroudi & Lazaridis, 2000:- Use food industry Greek to examine the cash conversion cycle
(CCC) as a liquidity indicator of the firms and tries to determine its relationship with the current
and the quick ratios, with its component variables, and investigates the implications of the CCC
in terms of profitability, indebtness and firm size. The results of their study indicate that there is a
significant positive relationship between the cash conversion cycle and the traditional liquidity
measures of current and quick ratios. The cash conversion cycle also positively related to the
return on assets and the net profit margin but had no linear relationship with the leverage ratios.
Conversely, the current and quick ratios had negative relationship with the debt to equity ratio,
and a positive one with the times interest earned ratio. Finally, there is no difference between the
liquidity ratios of large and small firms.
Nazir and Afza (2008):- Used external and internal factors to explore the determinants of
working capital requirements of a firm. Internal factors were operating cycle, operating cash
flows, leverage, size, ROA, Tobin's q and growth while industry dummy and level of economic
activity as external macroeconomic factors. They found that operating cycle, leverage, ROA and
q had an influence on the working capital requirements significantly. The study further revealed
that working capital management practices are also related to industry and different industries are
following different working capital requirements.

19

While Rehman (2006):- Studied the impact of the different variables of working capital
management including Average Collection Period, Inventory Turnover in Days, Average
Payment Period and Cash Conversion Cycle on the Net Operating Profitability of firms and
concluded that there was a strong negative relationship between above working capital ratios and
profitability of firms. Furthermore the study stated that managers can create a positive value for
the shareholders by reducing the cash conversion cycle up to an optimal level.
Ramachandran and Janakiraman (2009):- Found negative relationship between EBIT and the
cash conversion cycle (CCC). The study revealed that operational EBIT dictates how to manage
the working capital of the firm. Further, it was found that lower gross EBIT was associated with
an increase in the accounts payable days. Thus the study concluded that less profitable firms wait
longer to pay their bills, taking advantage of credit period granted by their suppliers. While the
positive relationship between average receivable days and firms EBIT suggested that less
profitable firms will pursue a decrease of their accounts receivable days in an attempt to reduce
their cash gap in the CCC.
Ganesan (2007):- He depicted that the working capital management efficiency was negatively
associated to the profitability and liquidity. The study revealed that when the working capital
management efficiency was improved by decreasing days of working capital, there was
improvement in profitability of the firms in telecommunication firms in terms of profit margin.
Padachi (2006): Examined the trend in working capital needs and profitability of firms to
identify the causes for any significant differences between the industries. The results showed that
high investment in inventories and receivables was associated with lower profitability. The
findings also revealed that an increasing trend in the short-term component of trend in the shortterm component of working capital financing. In the study of Raheman and Nasr (2007) they
studied the effect of Working Capital Management on liquidity as well on profitability of the
firm. The results showed that there was a negative relationship between variables of the working
capital management and profitability of the firm. Further the study also found that there was a
negative relationship between liquidity and profitability and a positive relationship between size
of the firm and its profitability and negative relationship between debt used by the firm and its
profitability.
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Afza and Nazir (2007a):- Found the negative relationship between working capital policies and
profitability. In line with the study Afza and Nazir (2007b) further investigated the relationship
between the aggressive/conservative working capital policies profitability as well as risk of
public limited companies. They found a negative relationship between the profitability measures
of firms and degree of aggressiveness of working capital investment and financing policies. The
firms yield negative returns if they follow an aggressive working capital policy.
Deloof (2003):- Investigated the relationship between working capital management and
corporate profitability for a sample of 1,009 large Belgian non-financial firms for the 1992-1996
periods. The result from analysis showed that there was a negative between profitability that was
measured by gross operating income and cash conversion cycle as well number of days accounts
receivable and inventories. He suggested that managers can increase corporate profitability by
reducing the number of days accounts receivable and inventories. Less profitable firms waited
longer to pay their bills.
Singh and Pandey (2008):- Had an attempt to study the working capital components and the
impact of working capital management on profitability of Hindalco Industries Limited for period
from1990 to 2007. Results of the study showed that current ratio, liquid ratio, receivables
turnover ratio and working capital to total assets ratio had statistically significant impact on the
profitability of Hindalco Industries Limited.
Lazaridis and Tryfonidis (2006):- Have investigated relationship between working capital
management and corporate profitability of listed company in the Athens Stock Exchange. A
sample of 131 listed companies for period of 2001-2004 was used to examine this relationship.
The result from regression analysis indicated that there was a statistical significance between
profitability, measured through gross operating profit, and the cash conversion cycle. From those
results, they claimed that the managers could create value for shareholders by handling correctly
the cash conversion cycle and keeping each different component to an optimum level.
Raheman and Nasr (2007):- Have selected a sample of 94 Pakistani firms listed on Karachi Stock
Exchange for a period of 6 years from 1999-2004 to study the effect of different variables of
21

working capital management on the net operating profitability. From result of study, they showed
that there was a negative relationship between variables of working capital management
including the average collection period, inventory turnover in days, average collection period,
cash conversion cycle and profitability. Besides, they also indicated that size of the firm,
measured by natural logarithm of sales, and profitability had a positive relationship.
Filbeck and Krueger (2005):- Highlighted the importance of efficient working capital
management by analyzing the working capital management policies of 32 non-financial
industries in the US. According to their findings, significant differences exist among industries in
working capital practices overtime. Moreover, these working capital practices, themselves,
change significantly within industries overtime. Similar studies were conducted by Gombola and
Ketz (1983), Soenen (1993) and Maxwell et al. (1998).
Weinraub and Visscher (1998):- Discussed the issue of aggressive and conservative working
capital management policies by using quarterly data for the period 1984-93 of the US firms.
Their study considered 10 diverse industry groups to examine the relative relationship between
their aggressive/conservative working capital policies. Their study concluded that the industries
had distinctive and significantly different working capital management policies. Moreover, the
relative nature of the working capital management policies exhibited remarkable stability over
the 10-year study period. The study also showed a high and significant negative correlation
between industry asset and liability policies and found that when relatively aggressive working
capital asset policies are followed, they are balanced by relatively conservative working capital
financial policies.

22

RATIONALE OF STUDY

RATIONALE OF STUDY

23

The purpose of this study is hopefully to contribute towards a crucial element in financial
management which working capital management. Working capital management and its effects on
profitability is focused in this study. Specific objectives are to examine a relationship between
working capital management and profitability, to establish a relationship between the two
objectives of liquidity and profitability of the firms and to investigate the relationship between
debt used by the a firm and its profitability
Thus investigating this issue could provide additional insights and perhaps different evidence on
the working capital management in emerging capital market. Additionally, the results of this
study would provide firm managers better insights on how to create efficient working capital
management that have ability to maximize firms value. As a result, it will build up confidence in
investor to invest in that firm.

24

OBJECTIVE OF STUDY

OBJECTIVE OF STUDY
25

To study the impact of Working Capital Management on profitability in manufacturing

sector.

26

METHODOLOGY

METHODOLOGY
27

Research methodology is a way to systematically solve the research problems it may be

understood as a science of studying how research is done scientifically. In it, the various steps
which are generally adopted by a research in studying this research problem along with the logic
behind them are studied.
The need is therefore for those concerned with research to pay due attention designing adhering
to the appropriate methodology throughout for improving the quality of research. The
methodology may differ from problem to problem yet the basic approach towards research
remains the same.
THE STUDY
This is an Exploratory Research is done to gain familiarity with a phenomenon or to achieve
insight into it. The research is to explore the effect of working capital management on profit and
the trend of manufacturing companies working capital management practices. The results will
show that there might be a positive or negative linear relationship between working capital and
profitability.
THE SAMPLE UNITS
In the research impact of union budget is bounded to Cement Manufacturing Sector only in last 5
years.
Companies undertaken in analysis are:1. ACC Limited
2. Ambuja Cements
3. Ultratech Cements
4. JK Lakshmi
5. JP Cements
Sources and Method of Data Collection:

28

Collection of data is a very important activity and utmost care must be taken while collecting the
data because it constitutes the foundation on which the decisions are taken. Hence if the data is
inaccurate and inadequate the whole analysis and the decisions taken based on the inaccurate
data may be wrong. Therefore to avoid this, data must be collected accurately. While deciding
about the method of data collection to be used for the study, the researcher should keep in mind
the following two types of data.

a) Secondary data: Secondary data means data that is already available, i.e., already been
collected and analyzed by someone else. When the researcher utilizes secondary data, then he
has to look into various sources from where he can obtain them. In this case he is certainly not
confronted with the problems that bare usually associated with the collection of original data.
Secondary data may either be published data or unpublished data.
Researcher must be very careful in using secondary data. He must make a minute scrutiny
because it is just possible that the secondary data may be unsuitable in the context of the problem
which the researcher wants to study.
The researcher before using the secondary data must check the reliability of the data and also the
suitability of the data. The data that is suitable for one enquiry may not be suitable in other.
Therefore the already available data should be used by the researcher only when he finds them
reliable, suitable and adequate. The different methods for secondary data collection are
bibliography database, abstract database, full text database, online database, unpublished
database.
Advantages:

Secondary data can be very effectively used for the comparison of two statistics and then
drawing inferences based on these comparisons.

Secondary data is the best method of getting information regarding a particular area
where the direct collection of data is impossible.

Secondary data is the most easily accessible data and saves the researcher the trouble of
going through the tiresome process of collecting data personally.
29

Secondary data is readily available at cheap rates and is usually quite inexpensive.

Collecting secondary data and analyzing it saves time and effort.

TOOLS FOR DATA COLLECTION

This project is related to the impact of working capital management on profitability in
manufacturing sector. Correlation analysis and Ratio analysis is used to analyse the study. The
elements in these statements are properly studied to make proper interpretations.

Secondary data
The study undertaken is based on secondary data. The data used in the study has been collected
from various sources like

Websites of companies.

Books.

Journals.

TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES FOR DATA ANALYSIS

-

Balance Sheet, Trading and Profit & Loss A/c of manufacturing sector.

Ratio and Correlation Analysis.

METHOD:

30

Correlation Analysis
The method used to find out correlation coefficient in this study is Karl Pearsons Deviation of
Actual Mean Method. Here, correlation is calculated between working capital and net profit.
Steps of Calculation

Calculate the mean of the two given series, i.e., X and Y.

Take deviations of the two series from their respective mean, it is denoted as dx for x

series and dy for y series.

Get the product of the deviations and obtain the sum of the respective squares of
deviations, i.e.,

dx2dy2.

dxdy

Get the product of deviations, and sum-up them i.e.,

Substitute the respective in the formula of correlation coefficient.

Ratio Analysis
Ratios are calculated by using fixed formulae of Current Ratio, Net Profit Ratio, Gross Profit
Ratio and Operating Profit Ratio.
Finally, interpreting the results of correlation and ratio analysis.

CORRELATION ANALYSIS AND RATIO ANALYSIS

31

1. ACC LIMITED:
Working
Capital(X)

Year

Profit
(Y)

Crores
dx=(x
-x')
(dx)2

dy=(y
-y')

(dy)2

2003

99

200

220.8

48752.
6

-767.4

2004

138

378

259.8

67496

-589.4

2007

18

1439

139.8

471.6

2008

-6

1213

115.8

19544
13409.
6

34792.4
222406.
6

245.6

60319.4

2009

-858

1607

-736.2

51499
0

-609

4837

Sum
Number
of Years
Averages(X
')(Y')
Standard
Deviation
Correlation
Coefficient

66419
2.2

639.6

588902.
7

dxdy
169441.
92
222793.
2
65929.7

28440.5
470873.
409088
5
131550 768738.
9.1
42

5
-121.8

967.4

815

1147

-0.822
Table 1.1

AVERAGE:

A = average (or arithmetic mean)

N = the number of terms (e.g., the number of items or numbers being averaged)
S = the sum of the numbers in the set of interest (e.g., the sum of the numbers being averaged)
STANDARD DEVIATION:

32

S.D =

( X X ) 2
n1

CORRELATION (r) :
dxdy
xy

Yea
r
2003
2004
2007
2008
2009

RATIOS
GPR
(%)

NPR
CR
(%)
1.1
1
6.09
1.1
3
9.7
0.9
9
20.6
1
16.7
0.7
2
20.02

OPR
(%)
7.7

15

11.4

18

27.6
23.9

29
26

28.6

33

Table 1.2
Current Ratio = Current Assets/ Current Liabilities
Net Profit Ratio (NPR) = Net Profit/ Net Sales* 100
Gross Profit Ratio (GPR) = Gross Profit/ Net Sales* 100
Operating Profit Ratio (OPR) = Operating Profit/ Net Sales* 100
Interpretation:
From Table 1.1
As Correlation Coefficient lies between (-.75 to -1) so there exist high degree of negative
correlation.
From Table 1.2
As the current ratio of the company is near to ideal current ratio (i.e. 2:1) in 2003 and
2004 this means all the assets do not have same liquidity, hence in a worst situation some
of the current asset can be converted into cash to meet its obligations.

But ratio is gradually decreasing from 2007- 2009 which shows that the liquidity
position of the company is not good.
33

As NPR is increasing every year it shows firms sound profitability and also good capacity
to face adverse condition such as competition and low demand.

Continuous increasing GPR indicates better producing capacity and profitability of

company.

2. AMBUJA CEMENTS:
Crores
Working
Profit dx=(x
dy=(y
Year
Capital(X)
(Y)
-x')
(dx)2 -y')
(dy)2
dxdy
5198
47886 1577
2003
144
362
-228
4
-692
4
76
3240
28729 9648
2004
192
518
-180
0
-536
6
0
51122 3289
2007
418
1769
46 2116
715
5
0
2440
12110 1719
2008
866
1402
494
36
348
4
12
1795
2197
2009
238
1218
-134
6
164 26896
6
3484
14253 4370
Sum
1858
5269
92
85
82
Number
of Years
5
Averages(X
')(Y')
Standard
Deviation
Correlation
Coefficient

372

1054

590

1194

0.62
Table 2.1

AVERAGE:
34

A = average (or arithmetic mean)

N = the number of terms (e.g., the number of items or numbers being averaged)
S = the sum of the numbers in the set of interest (e.g., the sum of the numbers being averaged)
STANDARD DEVIATION:
S.D =

( X X ) 2
n1

CORRELATION (r) :
dxdy
xy

Yea
CR
r
2003 3.4
2004 1.5
2007 1.4
2008 1.6
1.1
2009
4

RATIOS
NPR
GPR
(%)
(%)
15
18
31
22.5
17.2

26
27
53
36

OPR
(%)
29.4
30
39.25
31.34

30

30

Table 2.2
Current Ratio = Current Assets/ Current Liabilities
Net Profit Ratio (NPR) = Net Profit/ Net Sales* 100
Gross Profit Ratio (GPR) = Gross Profit/ Net Sales* 100
Operating Profit Ratio (OPR) = Operating Profit/ Net Sales* 100
Interpretation:
From Table 2.1
35

As Correlation Coefficient lies between (0.25 to 0.75) so there exist moderate degree of
positive correlation.

From Table 2.2

As the current ratio of the company is more than ideal current ratio (i.e. 2:1) in 2003 it
indicates ideal assets which are not properly utilized.

But ratio is gradually decreasing from 2004-2009 which are near to ideal ratio (2:1)
which shows that all assets do not have same liquidity, hence in a worst situation some of
the current asset can be converted into cash to meet its obligations.

As NPR is increasing every year it shows firms sound profitability and also good capacity
to face adverse condition such as competition and low demand.

Continuous increasing GPR indicates better producing capacity and profitability of

company.

3. ULTRATECH CEMENTS:
Working
Capital(X)

Year

Crores
dx=(x
dy=(y
2
-x')
(dx)
-y')
(dy)2
dxdy
1988
34222
39
141
1
-585
5 82485
3385
38564 11426
3
184
6
-621
1
4
3572
14745
1008
-189
1
384
6 72576
12460
977
-95 9025
353
9 33535
21996
1093
-41 1681
469
1 19229

Profit
(Y)

2003

355

2004

398

2007

25

2008

119

2009

173

36

Yea
r
Sum

2003
2004
Number
of Years
2007
Averages(X'
2008
)(Y')
2009
Standard
Deviation
Correlation
Coefficient

CR
1.9
2
1.9
1.2
7
1.0
2
1.1

NPR
(%)

RATIOS
GPR
OPR
(%)
(%)
1070
3120

1.7
0.12
5

11.7
9.9

16.8
10.11

16
214

28.3
624

30

18.3
15.3
316.5

32
26.4
1104.
5

33.2
28.4

1001
64

3220
89

12198
92

-0.92
Table 3.1

AVERAGE:

A = average (or arithmetic mean)

N = the number of terms (e.g., the number of items or numbers being averaged)
S = the sum of the numbers in the set of interest (e.g., the sum of the numbers being averaged)
STANDARD DEVIATION:
S.D =

( X X ) 2
n1

CORRELATION (r) :
dxdy
xy

37

Table 3.2
Current Ratio = Current Assets/ Current Liabilities
Net Profit Ratio (NPR) = Net Profit/ Net Sales* 100
Gross Profit Ratio (GPR) = Gross Profit/ Net Sales* 100
Operating Profit Ratio (OPR) = Operating Profit/ Net Sales* 100
Interpretation:
From Table 3.1
As Correlation Coefficient lies between (-.75 to -1) so there exist high degree of negative
correlation.
From Table 3.2
As the current ratio of the company is near to ideal current ratio (i.e. 2:1) in 2003 and
2004 this means all the assets do not have same liquidity, hence in a worst situation some
of the current asset can be converted into cash to meet its obligations.

As NPR is increasing every year it shows firms sound profitability and also good capacity
to face adverse condition such as competition and low demand.

Continuous increasing GPR indicates better producing capacity and profitability of

company.

4. JK LAKSHMI CEMENTS:
38

Working
Capital(X)

Year
2003

45

2004

50

2007

413

2008

370

2009

309

Sum
Number
of Years

1187

Crores
Profit( dx=(xdy=(y2
Y)
x')
(dx)
y')
(dy)2 dxdy
3686
2560 3136
-32
-192
4
-160
0
0
3496
1040 1907
26
-187
9
-102
4
4
3097
1689
224
176
6
96 9216
6
1768
179
133
9
51 2601 6783
1276
241
72 5184
113
9 8136
1256
6059 8224
638
82
0
9

Averages(X'
)(Y')
Standard
Deviation
Correlation
Coefficient

237

128

354.5

246.2

0.94
Table 4.1

AVERAGE:

A = average (or arithmetic mean)

N = the number of terms (e.g., the number of items or numbers being averaged)
S = the sum of the numbers in the set of interest (e.g., the sum of the numbers being averaged)
STANDARD DEVIATION:
S.D =

( X X ) 2
n1

CORRELATION (r) :
39

 dxdy
xy

Yea
r
2003
2004
2007
2008
2009

RATIOS
NPR
GPR
OPR
CR (%)
(%)
(%)
1.7
-5.7
4.3
11
1.9
5.3
15
16
3.3
3
20
30
32.3
2.4
14.6
24.2
26
1.9
16.2
28
29
Table 4.2

Current Ratio = Current Assets/ Current Liabilities

Net Profit Ratio (NPR) = Net Profit/ Net Sales* 100
Gross Profit Ratio (GPR) = Gross Profit/ Net Sales* 100
Operating Profit Ratio (OPR) = Operating Profit/ Net Sales* 100
Interpretation:
From Table 4.1
As Correlation Coefficient lies between (0.75 to 1) so there exists high degree of positive
correlation.
From Table 4.2
As the current ratio of the company is near to ideal current ratio (i.e. 2:1) in 2003, 2004
and 2009 this means all the assets do not have same liquidity, hence in a worst situation
some of the current asset can be converted into cash to meet its obligations.

As the current ratio of the company is more than ideal current ratio (i.e. 2:1) in 2007 and
2008 it indicates ideal assets which are not properly utilized.

As NPR is negative which indicates weak profitability in 2003 but from 2004 it is
increasing every year it shows firms sound profitability and also good capacity to face
adverse condition such as competition and low demand.

40

Continuous increasing GPR indicates better producing capacity and profitability of

company but in 2009 it reduces a bit which indicates down fall in producing capacity of
company.

5. JP CEMENTS:
Crores
Profit dx=(x
dy=(y
2
(Y)
-x')
(dx)
-y')
(dy)2 dxdy
0.5
0.17
-2.6
6.8
-0.63
0.4 1.64
1.06
1.3
0.21
-1.8
3.24
-0.59
0.35
2
2.31
0.61
-0.79 0.624
-0.19
0.04 0.15
0.10
4.125
0.9
1.03 1.061
0.1
0.01
3
7.25
1.9
4.15 17.22
1.1
1.21 4.57
28.9
7.52
15.485
3.79
45
2.01
5

Working
Capital(X)

Year
2003
2004
2007
2008
2009
Sum
Number
of Years
Averages(X
')(Y')
Standard
Deviation
Correlation
Coefficient

5
3.1

0.8

5.4

1.42

0.98
Table 5.1

AVERAGE:

A = average (or arithmetic mean)

N = the number of terms (e.g., the number of items or numbers being averaged)
S = the sum of the numbers in the set of interest (e.g., the sum of the numbers being averaged)
41

STANDARD DEVIATION:
S.D =

( X X ) 2
n1

CORRELATION (r) :
dxdy
xy

Yea

CR
r
2003 1.4
2.0
2004
4
2007 1.6
2008 1.8
2.2
2009
4

NPR
(%)

RATIOS
GPR
OPR
(%)
(%)
6.6
15.4
10.4

7.02
14.3
14.6

15.6
24.5
25.4

11.11
20
33.6

14.6

24.3

33.4

Table 5.2
Current Ratio = Current Assets/ Current Liabilities
Net Profit Ratio (NPR) = Net Profit/ Net Sales* 100
Gross Profit Ratio (GPR) = Gross Profit/ Net Sales* 100
Operating Profit Ratio (OPR) = Operating Profit/ Net Sales* 100
Interpretation:
From Table 5.1
As Correlation Coefficient lies between (0.75 to 1) so there exists high degree of positive
correlation.
From Table 5.2
As the current ratio of the company is near to ideal current ratio (i.e. 2:1) in 2003, 2007
and 2008 this means all the assets do not have same liquidity, hence in a worst situation
some of the current asset can be converted into cash to meet its obligations.
42

As the current ratio of the company is more than ideal current ratio (i.e. 2:1) in 2004 and
2009 it indicates ideal assets which are not properly utilized.

As NPR increasing every year at a stable rate it shows firms sound profitability, stability
and also good capacity to face adverse condition such as competition and low demand.

Continuous increasing GPR indicates better producing capacity and profitability of

company but in 2009 it reduces a bit which indicates down fall in producing capacity of
company.

FINDINGS

43

FINDINGS
From the above study, it has been found that
I.

Correlation Coefficient value for companies

ACC limited is -0.822 < 1(High degree of Negative Correlation)

Ambuja Cements is 0.62 < 1(Moderate degree of Positive Correlation)
Ultratech Cements is -0.92 < 1(High Degree of Negative Correlation)
JK Lakshmi Cements is 0.94 < 1(High Degree of Positive Correlation)
JP Cements is 0.98 < 1(High Degree of Positive Correlation)

II.

So, correlation said to be negative, if an increase (decrease) in value of one variable is

III.

accompanied by a decrease (increase) in value of other.

And also the correlation is said to be positive correlation when increase (decrease) in

IV.

value of two variables go simultaneously.

It is also found that high the GPR, NPR percent more the companys profitability.

44

RECOMMENDATIONS

45

RECOMMENDATIONS

As the current ratio of a company measures its ability to meet short-term obligations. So,
there should be proper balance between both current assets and current liabilities at an

ideal ratio of 2:1.

Companies should continue to maintain high percent of NPR, GPR.
Companies should regularly identify correlation between working capital and profit, as it
shows dependency of one variable on other.

46

CONCLUSION

47

CONCLUSION
By observation, it is pointed out that there require a huge need for management of working
capital to get maximum advantage. Profitability and liquidity are the two aims of working capital
management. Companies should maintain the level of current assets twice the level of current
liabilities to avoid adverse impacts on profitability. If they maintain high level of investment in
current assets. It will be difficult to make payment to creditors and the investment will remain
idle. There will not be proper use of investment and so the profitability will suffer.
Thus, all precaution should be taken for effective and efficient management of working capital.
The financial manager should pay particular attention to the level of current assets and its
financing.

48

REFERENCE

49

REFERENCE

BOOK REFERENCES

- Khan & Jain, Financial Management (4th Edition), Tata McGraw Hill Publishing
Co., New Delhi.
Prasanna Chandra, Financial Management (6th Edition), Tata Mc Graw Hill

Publishing Co., New Delhi.

WEB REFERENCES

- (Title: Effect of working capital management on profitability, Author: M.A.,

Zariyawati,

Department

of

Accounting

and

Finance)list.academic-

journal.org/submissions/isfa2009_submission_13.doc
- (Title: Trends in Working Capital Management and its Impact on Firms
Performance, Author: K. Padachi) http://www.bizresearchpapers.com/Kesseven.pdf
-

http://www.ibef.org/economy/manufacturing.aspx

www.acclimited.com
50

www.jklakshmi.com

www.ambujacements.com

www.ultratech.com

www.jalindia.com

JOURNAL

(Title: Conceptual analysis of working capital and its impact on profitability Author:
Sanjay Kumar Sadana)
http://www.indianmba.com/Faculty_Column/FC1228/fc1228.html

51