Impact of Working Capital Management on Firm Profitability in Business Cycles

The recent economic recession has led to re-focusing on working capital management policies in firms. This paper examines the importance of business cycles on the relationship between working capital and profitability of firms. To proceed, we tested the hypotheses in a sample of 120 firms listed in the Tehran Stock Exchange in the period 1999-2012, using multivariate regression model. The results showed that there is negative relationship between cash conversion cycle and profitability of the firms. Also, it was found that the impact of business cycles on the relationship between working capital and profitability during recession periods is relatively higher, compared with boom periods. Additionally, the results indicated that the impacts of inventory management, and receivables conversion period as well as debt paying period (as the three components of cash conversion cycle) on profitability increase in recession period.