UAE working capital held steady in 2023: UAE businesses’ working capital performance remained stable in 2023, maintaining an average of 83 net working capital (NWC) days last year, the same as in 2022, according to PwC’s Middle East Working Capital Study (pdf). The stable performance followed a sharp correction in 2022 that reversed the pandemic-era decline in companies’ working capital management.

SOUND SMART- NWC days is a metric for the duration businesses require to convert their net assets into revenue — a way to evaluate companies’ liquidity, operational efficiency, and short-term financial risk.

The stable performance was driven by minor fluctuations in days sales outstanding, days payable outstanding, and days inventory outstanding offsetting each other.

Companies in the UAE are doubling down on targeted working capital improvement strategies and large-scale turnarounds, with the need to optimize working capital leading to a trend of major internal overhauls, more so as working capital has become a key factor in recent M&A transactions, the report said.

The regional picture: Mena businesses saw profitability decline for the second consecutive year in 2023, despite robust revenue growth. The downturn was attributed to rising costs, with falling oil prices impacting margin gains in the energy sector in addition to increased competition between businesses for securing government contracts. The region has also become exposed to global inflation due to businesses’ reliance on imports, while supply chain disruptions and geopolitical tensions elevated logistics costs.

In response, companies have ramped up their efforts to enhance their cashflow by trimming indirect costs and optimizing their working capital. The market saw significant cuts in selling, general, and administrative costs, dropping from an average of 9.4% in 2020 to 7.8% in 2023.

However, around USD 50 bn in liquidity remains “trapped on corporate balance sheets,” particularly in underperforming sectors, according to PwC. Unlocking this capital through sustainable capital improvement strategies could drive substantial growth for the regional market, the report said.

The caveat: Despite the improvements in Mena companies’ working capital efficiency, many still rely on short-term measures that fail to address the internal inefficiencies hampering their working capital improvement.

Tightening working capital management is a pressing issue amid anticipated high borrowing costs due to expected high interest rates over the next three to five years, PwC wrote. With the elevated borrowing costs, the inefficiencies in working capital deployment could drain capital that could be directed towards M&A transactions, expansion plans, or shareholder returns.

In 2023, corporate interest expenses in the Mena region hit record highs, climbing 37% y-o-y, despite total corporate debt inching up by 4% y-o-y. Debt costs surged by 120 bps between 2022 and 2023.

The outlook: PwC projects that high borrowing costs will persist, with Bloomberg forecasting that the benchmark AED interest rate, the Emirates Interbank Offered Rate (EIBOR), will remain above 4% for the next five years.

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