My son-in-law isa smart accountant and I asked him to look at...

My son-in-law isa smart accountant and I asked him to look at this.

He tells me thatthe ‘net cash from operations’ is a standard definition and should exclude leasepayments. However, any commentary should focus on the net position rather than one item.

He noted that Q3and YTD receipts from customers are ~$100m (21%) lower than last year.

He questioned whylease payments were so much higher in Q3 this year compared to last. This year $31m was paid in Q3 and $72m YTD. Last year $17.5m/$50.5m equivalent figures.

The new finance line issecured against all assets, which really means inventory. If the company goes bad and landlords are owed money, they can seize stock in stores which reduces the inventory available to the new financiers. He thinks that the new financiers may have insisted that all landlord obligations be kept up to date, putting more pressure on suppliers. That’s his theory, anyway