New Zealand businesses are taking longer to pay their bills than a year ago, according to data released by a credit reporting agency.
Dun & Bradstreet canvassed its database for its latest trade payment analysis, which shows more than half of the country's firms were delinquent in making payments to each other during the three months ended June.
The agency said the average payment term for the quarter - 45.8 days - was nearly two days longer than 12 months ago, highlighting the cash-flow pressures facing companies.
Businesses took a little less time to pay their bills in the three months to June compared with the previous quarter, the agency said. But payment terms had moved steadily upwards from the 42-day lows seen late last year, around the time the first earthquake hit Christchurch on September 4.
"Natural disasters as well as the after-effects of the global financial crisis have strained the finances of many New Zealand firms, made worse by the low level of awareness of the repercussions of not paying on time," said John Scott, general manager of Dun & Bradstreet New Zealand.