Working Capital Management and Corporate Performance of Manufacturing Sector in Pakistan

Working capital management plays a significant role in better performance of manufacturing firms. This paper analyzes the impact of working capital management on firm’s performance in Pakistan for the period 1998 to 2007. For this purpose, balanced panel data of 204 manufacturing firms is used which are listed on Karachi Stock Exchange. The results indicate that the cash conversion cycle, net trade cycle and inventory turnover in days are significantly affecting the performance of the firms. The manufacturing firms are in general facing problems with their collection and payment policies. Moreover, the financial leverage, sales growth and firm size also have significant effect on the firm’s profitability. The study also concludes that firms in Pakistan are following conservative working capital management policy and the firms are needed to concentrate and improve their collection and payment policy. The effective policies must be formulated for the individual components of working capital. Furthermore, efficient Management and financing of working capital (current assets and current liabilities) can increase the operating profitability of manufacturing firms. For efficient working capital management, specialized persons in the fields of finance should be hired by the firms for expert advice on working capital management in the manufacturing sector.Working Capital Management; Cash Conversion Cycle; Net Trade Cycle; Average Collection Period; Average Payment Period; Manufacturing Sector; Fixed Effect Model.

Conversion of Hazardous Diesel Soot Particles into a Novel Highly Efficient 3D Hydrogel for Solar Desalination and Wastewater Purification

Diesel particulate matter (DPM) generated as vehicular exhaust is one of the main sources of atmospheric soot. These soot particles have been known to cause adverse health problems in humans and cause acute environmental problems. Despite great efforts for minimizing soot production, research on the disposal and recycling of inevitable diesel soot is scarce. However, DPM consists mainly of carbonaceous soot (DS) that can be easily utilized as a photothermal material for solar desalination. Recently, interfacial solar steam generation using three-dimensional (3D) structures has gained extensive attention. 3D-structured hydrogels have exhibited incredible performance in solar desalination owing to their tunable physicochemical properties, hydrophilicity, intrinsic heat localization, and excellent water transport capability. Herein, a novel DS-incorporated 3D polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)-based hydrogel is proposed for highly efficient solar desalination. The polymer network incorporated with purified DS (DSH) achieved an excellent evaporation rate of 3.01 kg m-2 h-1 under 1 sun illumination due to its vertically aligned water channels, hydrophilicity, and intrinsic porous structure. In addition, the DSH-PVA hydrogel could generate desalinated water efficiently (2.5 kg m-2 h-1) with anti-salt fouling properties. The present results would motivate the utilization and recycling of waste materials like DS as photothermal materials for efficient, low-cost, and sustainable solar desalination. © 2023 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.11Ysciescopu

Liquidity Position and Working Capital Adequacy of Companies in Turkey: Outlook from Industry Financial Statements

This chapter aims to give detailed information especially about liquidity and working capital positions of Turkish companies. In addition to the liquidity, detailed analysis about profitability and debt structure is conducted. The adequacy of a company's working capital depends on the industry in which it competes and its relationship with its customers, suppliers, and the macroeconomic environment the company operates in