diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 6bb73aa..a34c365 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -121,7 +121,7 @@ $reader->setEncoding('UTF-16LE');
 The writer always generate CSV files encoded in UTF-8, with a BOM.
 
 
-### Configuring the XLSX and ODS writers
+### Configuring the XLSX and ODS readers and writers
 
 #### Row styling
 
@@ -163,7 +163,6 @@ Font      | Bold          | `StyleBuilder::setFontBold()`
           | Font color    | `StyleBuilder::setFontColor(Color::BLUE)`<br>`StyleBuilder::setFontColor(Color::rgb(0, 128, 255))`
 Alignment | Wrap text     | `StyleBuilder::setShouldWrapText()`
 
-
 #### New sheet creation
 
 It is also possible to change the behavior of the writer when the maximum number of rows (1,048,576) have been written in the current sheet:
@@ -208,6 +207,20 @@ $writer->setShouldUseInlineStrings(false); // will use shared strings
 > Apple's products (Numbers and the iOS previewer) don't support inline strings and display empty cells instead. Therefore, if these platforms need to be supported, make sure to use shared strings!
 
 
+#### Date/Time formatting
+
+When reading a spreadsheet containing dates or times, Spout returns the values by default as DateTime objects.
+It is possible to change this behavior and have a formatted date returned instead (e.g. "2016-11-29 1:22 AM"). The format of the date corresponds to what is specified in the spreadsheet.
+ 
+```php
+use Box\Spout\Reader\ReaderFactory;
+use Box\Spout\Common\Type;
+
+$reader = ReaderFactory::create(Type::XLSX);
+$reader->setShouldFormatDates(false); // default value
+$reader->setShouldFormatDates(true); // will return formatted dates
+```
+
 ### Playing with sheets
 
 When creating a XLSX or ODS file, it is possible to control which sheet the data will be written into. At any time, you can retrieve or set the current sheet:
diff --git a/src/Spout/Reader/AbstractReader.php b/src/Spout/Reader/AbstractReader.php
index d6d38e2..cb476ab 100644
--- a/src/Spout/Reader/AbstractReader.php
+++ b/src/Spout/Reader/AbstractReader.php
@@ -19,6 +19,9 @@ abstract class AbstractReader implements ReaderInterface
     /** @var \Box\Spout\Common\Helper\GlobalFunctionsHelper Helper to work with global functions */
     protected $globalFunctionsHelper;
 
+    /** @var bool Whether date/time values should be returned as PHP objects or be formatted as strings */
+    protected $shouldFormatDates = false;
+
     /**
      * Returns whether stream wrappers are supported
      *
@@ -49,7 +52,7 @@ abstract class AbstractReader implements ReaderInterface
     abstract protected function closeReader();
 
     /**
-     * @param $globalFunctionsHelper
+     * @param \Box\Spout\Common\Helper\GlobalFunctionsHelper $globalFunctionsHelper
      * @return AbstractReader
      */
     public function setGlobalFunctionsHelper($globalFunctionsHelper)
@@ -58,6 +61,18 @@ abstract class AbstractReader implements ReaderInterface
         return $this;
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Sets whether date/time values should be returned as PHP objects or be formatted as strings.
+     *
+     * @param bool $shouldFormatDates
+     * @return AbstractReader
+     */
+    public function setShouldFormatDates($shouldFormatDates)
+    {
+        $this->shouldFormatDates = $shouldFormatDates;
+        return $this;
+    }
+
     /**
      * Prepares the reader to read the given file. It also makes sure
      * that the file exists and is readable.
diff --git a/src/Spout/Reader/ODS/Helper/CellValueFormatter.php b/src/Spout/Reader/ODS/Helper/CellValueFormatter.php
index 3eb1918..b39af21 100644
--- a/src/Spout/Reader/ODS/Helper/CellValueFormatter.php
+++ b/src/Spout/Reader/ODS/Helper/CellValueFormatter.php
@@ -34,14 +34,19 @@ class CellValueFormatter
     const XML_ATTRIBUTE_CURRENCY = 'office:currency';
     const XML_ATTRIBUTE_C = 'text:c';
 
+    /** @var bool Whether date/time values should be returned as PHP objects or be formatted as strings */
+    protected $shouldFormatDates;
+
     /** @var \Box\Spout\Common\Escaper\ODS Used to unescape XML data */
     protected $escaper;
 
     /**
-     *
+     * @param bool $shouldFormatDates Whether date/time values should be returned as PHP objects or be formatted as strings
      */
-    public function __construct()
+    public function __construct($shouldFormatDates)
     {
+        $this->shouldFormatDates = $shouldFormatDates;
+
         /** @noinspection PhpUnnecessaryFullyQualifiedNameInspection */
         $this->escaper = new \Box\Spout\Common\Escaper\ODS();
     }
@@ -122,6 +127,7 @@ class CellValueFormatter
     {
         $nodeValue = $node->getAttribute(self::XML_ATTRIBUTE_VALUE);
         $nodeIntValue = intval($nodeValue);
+        // The "==" is intentionally not a "===" because only the value matters, not the type
         $cellValue = ($nodeIntValue == $nodeValue) ? $nodeIntValue : floatval($nodeValue);
         return $cellValue;
     }
@@ -144,15 +150,27 @@ class CellValueFormatter
      * Returns the cell Date value from the given node.
      *
      * @param \DOMNode $node
-     * @return \DateTime|null The value associated with the cell or NULL if invalid date value
+     * @return \DateTime|string|null The value associated with the cell or NULL if invalid date value
      */
     protected function formatDateCellValue($node)
     {
-        try {
-            $nodeValue = $node->getAttribute(self::XML_ATTRIBUTE_DATE_VALUE);
-            return new \DateTime($nodeValue);
-        } catch (\Exception $e) {
-            return null;
+        // The XML node looks like this:
+        // <table:table-cell calcext:value-type="date" office:date-value="2016-05-19T16:39:00" office:value-type="date">
+        //   <text:p>05/19/16 04:39 PM</text:p>
+        // </table:table-cell>
+
+        if ($this->shouldFormatDates) {
+            // The date is already formatted in the "p" tag
+            $nodeWithValueAlreadyFormatted = $node->getElementsByTagName(self::XML_NODE_P)->item(0);
+            return $nodeWithValueAlreadyFormatted->nodeValue;
+        } else {
+            // otherwise, get it from the "date-value" attribute
+            try {
+                $nodeValue = $node->getAttribute(self::XML_ATTRIBUTE_DATE_VALUE);
+                return new \DateTime($nodeValue);
+            } catch (\Exception $e) {
+                return null;
+            }
         }
     }
 
@@ -160,15 +178,27 @@ class CellValueFormatter
      * Returns the cell Time value from the given node.
      *
      * @param \DOMNode $node
-     * @return \DateInterval|null The value associated with the cell or NULL if invalid time value
+     * @return \DateInterval|string|null The value associated with the cell or NULL if invalid time value
      */
     protected function formatTimeCellValue($node)
     {
-        try {
-            $nodeValue = $node->getAttribute(self::XML_ATTRIBUTE_TIME_VALUE);
-            return new \DateInterval($nodeValue);
-        } catch (\Exception $e) {
-            return null;
+        // The XML node looks like this:
+        // <table:table-cell calcext:value-type="time" office:time-value="PT13H24M00S" office:value-type="time">
+        //   <text:p>01:24:00 PM</text:p>
+        // </table:table-cell>
+
+        if ($this->shouldFormatDates) {
+            // The date is already formatted in the "p" tag
+            $nodeWithValueAlreadyFormatted = $node->getElementsByTagName(self::XML_NODE_P)->item(0);
+            return $nodeWithValueAlreadyFormatted->nodeValue;
+        } else {
+            // otherwise, get it from the "time-value" attribute
+            try {
+                $nodeValue = $node->getAttribute(self::XML_ATTRIBUTE_TIME_VALUE);
+                return new \DateInterval($nodeValue);
+            } catch (\Exception $e) {
+                return null;
+            }
         }
     }
 
diff --git a/src/Spout/Reader/ODS/Reader.php b/src/Spout/Reader/ODS/Reader.php
index b4093ae..a52bafa 100644
--- a/src/Spout/Reader/ODS/Reader.php
+++ b/src/Spout/Reader/ODS/Reader.php
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ class Reader extends AbstractReader
         $this->zip = new \ZipArchive();
 
         if ($this->zip->open($filePath) === true) {
-            $this->sheetIterator = new SheetIterator($filePath);
+            $this->sheetIterator = new SheetIterator($filePath, $this->shouldFormatDates);
         } else {
             throw new IOException("Could not open $filePath for reading.");
         }
diff --git a/src/Spout/Reader/ODS/RowIterator.php b/src/Spout/Reader/ODS/RowIterator.php
index aa7a496..e91ad90 100644
--- a/src/Spout/Reader/ODS/RowIterator.php
+++ b/src/Spout/Reader/ODS/RowIterator.php
@@ -45,11 +45,12 @@ class RowIterator implements IteratorInterface
 
     /**
      * @param XMLReader $xmlReader XML Reader, positioned on the "<table:table>" element
+     * @param bool $shouldFormatDates Whether date/time values should be returned as PHP objects or be formatted as strings
      */
-    public function __construct($xmlReader)
+    public function __construct($xmlReader, $shouldFormatDates)
     {
         $this->xmlReader = $xmlReader;
-        $this->cellValueFormatter = new CellValueFormatter();
+        $this->cellValueFormatter = new CellValueFormatter($shouldFormatDates);
     }
 
     /**
@@ -186,7 +187,7 @@ class RowIterator implements IteratorInterface
     /**
      * empty() replacement that honours 0 as a valid value
      *
-     * @param $value The cell value
+     * @param string|int|float|bool|\DateTime|\DateInterval|null $value The cell value
      * @return bool
      */
     protected function isEmptyCellValue($value)
diff --git a/src/Spout/Reader/ODS/Sheet.php b/src/Spout/Reader/ODS/Sheet.php
index c78e4aa..98d00b1 100644
--- a/src/Spout/Reader/ODS/Sheet.php
+++ b/src/Spout/Reader/ODS/Sheet.php
@@ -27,12 +27,13 @@ class Sheet implements SheetInterface
 
     /**
      * @param XMLReader $xmlReader XML Reader, positioned on the "<table:table>" element
+     * @param bool $shouldFormatDates Whether date/time values should be returned as PHP objects or be formatted as strings
      * @param int $sheetIndex Index of the sheet, based on order in the workbook (zero-based)
      * @param string $sheetName Name of the sheet
      */
-    public function __construct($xmlReader, $sheetIndex, $sheetName)
+    public function __construct($xmlReader, $shouldFormatDates, $sheetIndex, $sheetName)
     {
-        $this->rowIterator = new RowIterator($xmlReader);
+        $this->rowIterator = new RowIterator($xmlReader, $shouldFormatDates);
         $this->index = $sheetIndex;
         $this->name = $sheetName;
     }
diff --git a/src/Spout/Reader/ODS/SheetIterator.php b/src/Spout/Reader/ODS/SheetIterator.php
index f8683f0..d0010bd 100644
--- a/src/Spout/Reader/ODS/SheetIterator.php
+++ b/src/Spout/Reader/ODS/SheetIterator.php
@@ -22,6 +22,9 @@ class SheetIterator implements IteratorInterface
     /** @var string $filePath Path of the file to be read */
     protected $filePath;
 
+    /** @var bool Whether date/time values should be returned as PHP objects or be formatted as strings */
+    protected $shouldFormatDates;
+
     /** @var XMLReader The XMLReader object that will help read sheet's XML data */
     protected $xmlReader;
 
@@ -36,11 +39,13 @@ class SheetIterator implements IteratorInterface
 
     /**
      * @param string $filePath Path of the file to be read
+     * @param bool $shouldFormatDates Whether date/time values should be returned as PHP objects or be formatted as strings
      * @throws \Box\Spout\Reader\Exception\NoSheetsFoundException If there are no sheets in the file
      */
-    public function __construct($filePath)
+    public function __construct($filePath, $shouldFormatDates)
     {
         $this->filePath = $filePath;
+        $this->shouldFormatDates = $shouldFormatDates;
         $this->xmlReader = new XMLReader();
 
         /** @noinspection PhpUnnecessaryFullyQualifiedNameInspection */
@@ -109,7 +114,7 @@ class SheetIterator implements IteratorInterface
         $escapedSheetName = $this->xmlReader->getAttribute(self::XML_ATTRIBUTE_TABLE_NAME);
         $sheetName = $this->escaper->unescape($escapedSheetName);
 
-        return new Sheet($this->xmlReader, $sheetName, $this->currentSheetIndex);
+        return new Sheet($this->xmlReader, $this->shouldFormatDates, $sheetName, $this->currentSheetIndex);
     }
 
     /**
diff --git a/src/Spout/Reader/XLSX/Helper/CellValueFormatter.php b/src/Spout/Reader/XLSX/Helper/CellValueFormatter.php
index 046336a..286d348 100644
--- a/src/Spout/Reader/XLSX/Helper/CellValueFormatter.php
+++ b/src/Spout/Reader/XLSX/Helper/CellValueFormatter.php
@@ -44,17 +44,22 @@ class CellValueFormatter
     /** @var StyleHelper Helper to work with styles */
     protected $styleHelper;
 
+    /** @var bool Whether date/time values should be returned as PHP objects or be formatted as strings */
+    protected $shouldFormatDates;
+
     /** @var \Box\Spout\Common\Escaper\XLSX Used to unescape XML data */
     protected $escaper;
 
     /**
      * @param SharedStringsHelper $sharedStringsHelper Helper to work with shared strings
      * @param StyleHelper $styleHelper Helper to work with styles
+     * @param bool $shouldFormatDates Whether date/time values should be returned as PHP objects or be formatted as strings
      */
-    public function __construct($sharedStringsHelper, $styleHelper)
+    public function __construct($sharedStringsHelper, $styleHelper, $shouldFormatDates)
     {
         $this->sharedStringsHelper = $sharedStringsHelper;
         $this->styleHelper = $styleHelper;
+        $this->shouldFormatDates = $shouldFormatDates;
 
         /** @noinspection PhpUnnecessaryFullyQualifiedNameInspection */
         $this->escaper = new \Box\Spout\Common\Escaper\XLSX();
@@ -168,7 +173,7 @@ class CellValueFormatter
         $shouldFormatAsDate = $this->styleHelper->shouldFormatNumericValueAsDate($cellStyleId);
 
         if ($shouldFormatAsDate) {
-            return $this->formatExcelTimestampValue(floatval($nodeValue));
+            return $this->formatExcelTimestampValue(floatval($nodeValue), $cellStyleId);
         } else {
             $nodeIntValue = intval($nodeValue);
             return ($nodeIntValue == $nodeValue) ? $nodeIntValue : floatval($nodeValue);
@@ -181,9 +186,10 @@ class CellValueFormatter
      * NOTE: The timestamp can also represent a time, if it is a value between 0 and 1.
      *
      * @param float $nodeValue
+     * @param int $cellStyleId 0 being the default style
      * @return \DateTime|null The value associated with the cell or NULL if invalid date value
      */
-    protected function formatExcelTimestampValue($nodeValue)
+    protected function formatExcelTimestampValue($nodeValue, $cellStyleId)
     {
         // Fix for the erroneous leap year in Excel
         if (ceil($nodeValue) > self::ERRONEOUS_EXCEL_LEAP_YEAR_DAY) {
@@ -192,10 +198,10 @@ class CellValueFormatter
 
         if ($nodeValue >= 1) {
             // Values greater than 1 represent "dates". The value 1.0 representing the "base" date: 1900-01-01.
-            return $this->formatExcelTimestampValueAsDateValue($nodeValue);
+            return $this->formatExcelTimestampValueAsDateValue($nodeValue, $cellStyleId);
         } else if ($nodeValue >= 0) {
             // Values between 0 and 1 represent "times".
-            return $this->formatExcelTimestampValueAsTimeValue($nodeValue);
+            return $this->formatExcelTimestampValueAsTimeValue($nodeValue, $cellStyleId);
         } else {
             // invalid date
             return null;
@@ -207,9 +213,10 @@ class CellValueFormatter
      * Only the time value matters. The date part is set to Jan 1st, 1900 (base Excel date).
      *
      * @param float $nodeValue
-     * @return \DateTime The value associated with the cell
+     * @param int $cellStyleId 0 being the default style
+     * @return \DateTime|string The value associated with the cell
      */
-    protected function formatExcelTimestampValueAsTimeValue($nodeValue)
+    protected function formatExcelTimestampValueAsTimeValue($nodeValue, $cellStyleId)
     {
         $time = round($nodeValue * self::NUM_SECONDS_IN_ONE_DAY);
         $hours = floor($time / self::NUM_SECONDS_IN_ONE_HOUR);
@@ -220,7 +227,13 @@ class CellValueFormatter
         $dateObj = new \DateTime('1900-01-01');
         $dateObj->setTime($hours, $minutes, $seconds);
 
-        return $dateObj;
+        if ($this->shouldFormatDates) {
+            $styleNumberFormat = $this->styleHelper->getNumberFormat($cellStyleId);
+            $phpDateFormat = DateFormatHelper::toPHPDateFormat($styleNumberFormat);
+            return $dateObj->format($phpDateFormat);
+        } else {
+            return $dateObj;
+        }
     }
 
     /**
@@ -228,9 +241,10 @@ class CellValueFormatter
      * NOTE: The timestamp is a float representing the number of days since January 1st, 1900.
      *
      * @param float $nodeValue
-     * @return \DateTime|null The value associated with the cell or NULL if invalid date value
+     * @param int $cellStyleId 0 being the default style
+     * @return \DateTime|string|null The value associated with the cell or NULL if invalid date value
      */
-    protected function formatExcelTimestampValueAsDateValue($nodeValue)
+    protected function formatExcelTimestampValueAsDateValue($nodeValue, $cellStyleId)
     {
         // Do not use any unix timestamps for calculation to prevent
         // issues with numbers exceeding 2^31.
@@ -242,7 +256,13 @@ class CellValueFormatter
             $dateObj->modify('+' . intval($nodeValue) . 'days');
             $dateObj->modify('+' . $secondsRemainder . 'seconds');
 
-            return $dateObj;
+            if ($this->shouldFormatDates) {
+                $styleNumberFormat = $this->styleHelper->getNumberFormat($cellStyleId);
+                $phpDateFormat = DateFormatHelper::toPHPDateFormat($styleNumberFormat);
+                return $dateObj->format($phpDateFormat);
+            } else {
+                return $dateObj;
+            }
         } catch (\Exception $e) {
             return null;
         }
diff --git a/src/Spout/Reader/XLSX/Helper/DateFormatHelper.php b/src/Spout/Reader/XLSX/Helper/DateFormatHelper.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4acbef7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Spout/Reader/XLSX/Helper/DateFormatHelper.php
@@ -0,0 +1,122 @@
+<?php
+
+namespace Box\Spout\Reader\XLSX\Helper;
+
+/**
+ * Class DateFormatHelper
+ * This class provides helper functions to format Excel dates
+ *
+ * @package Box\Spout\Reader\XLSX\Helper
+ */
+class DateFormatHelper
+{
+    const KEY_GENERAL = 'general';
+    const KEY_HOUR_12 = '12h';
+    const KEY_HOUR_24 = '24h';
+
+    /**
+     * This map is used to replace Excel format characters by their PHP equivalent.
+     * Keys should be ordered from longest to smallest.
+     *
+     * @var array Mapping between Excel format characters and PHP format characters
+     */
+    private static $excelDateFormatToPHPDateFormatMapping = [
+        self::KEY_GENERAL => [
+            // Time
+            'am/pm' => 'A',  // Uppercase Ante meridiem and Post meridiem
+            ':mm'   => ':i', // Minutes with leading zeros - if preceded by a ":" (otherwise month)
+            'mm:'   => 'i:', // Minutes with leading zeros - if followed by a ":" (otherwise month)
+            'ss'    => 's',  // Seconds, with leading zeros
+            '.s'    => '',   // Ignore (fractional seconds format does not exist in PHP)
+
+            // Date
+            'e'     => 'Y',  // Full numeric representation of a year, 4 digits
+            'yyyy'  => 'Y',  // Full numeric representation of a year, 4 digits
+            'yy'    => 'y',  // Two digit representation of a year
+            'mmmmm' => 'M',  // Short textual representation of a month, three letters ("mmmmm" should only contain the 1st letter...)
+            'mmmm'  => 'F',  // Full textual representation of a month
+            'mmm'   => 'M',  // Short textual representation of a month, three letters
+            'mm'    => 'm',  // Numeric representation of a month, with leading zeros
+            'm'     => 'n',  // Numeric representation of a month, without leading zeros
+            'dddd'  => 'l',  // Full textual representation of the day of the week
+            'ddd'   => 'D',  // Textual representation of a day, three letters
+            'dd'    => 'd',  // Day of the month, 2 digits with leading zeros
+            'd'     => 'j',  // Day of the month without leading zeros
+        ],
+        self::KEY_HOUR_12 => [
+            'hh'    => 'h',  // 12-hour format of an hour without leading zeros
+            'h'     => 'g',  // 12-hour format of an hour without leading zeros
+        ],
+        self::KEY_HOUR_24 => [
+            'hh'    => 'H',  // 24-hour hours with leading zero
+            'h'     => 'G',  // 24-hour format of an hour without leading zeros
+        ],
+    ];
+
+    /**
+     * Converts the given Excel date format to a format understandable by the PHP date function.
+     *
+     * @param string $excelDateFormat Excel date format
+     * @return string PHP date format (as defined here: http://php.net/manual/en/function.date.php)
+     */
+    public static function toPHPDateFormat($excelDateFormat)
+    {
+        // Remove brackets potentially present at the beginning of the format string
+        $dateFormat = preg_replace('/^(\[\$[^\]]+?\])/i', '', $excelDateFormat);
+
+        // Double quotes are used to escape characters that must not be interpreted.
+        // For instance, ["Day " dd] should result in "Day 13" and we should not try to interpret "D", "a", "y"
+        // By exploding the format string using double quote as a delimiter, we can get all parts
+        // that must be transformed (even indexes) and all parts that must not be (odd indexes).
+        $dateFormatParts = explode('"', $dateFormat);
+
+        foreach ($dateFormatParts as $partIndex => $dateFormatPart) {
+            // do not look at odd indexes
+            if ($partIndex % 2 === 1) {
+                continue;
+            }
+
+            // Make sure all characters are lowercase, as the mapping table is using lowercase characters
+            $transformedPart = strtolower($dateFormatPart);
+
+            // Remove escapes related to non-format characters
+            $transformedPart = str_replace('\\', '', $transformedPart);
+
+            // Apply general transformation first...
+            $transformedPart = strtr($transformedPart, self::$excelDateFormatToPHPDateFormatMapping[self::KEY_GENERAL]);
+
+            // ... then apply hour transformation, for 12-hour or 24-hour format
+            if (self::has12HourFormatMarker($dateFormatPart)) {
+                $transformedPart = strtr($transformedPart, self::$excelDateFormatToPHPDateFormatMapping[self::KEY_HOUR_12]);
+            } else {
+                $transformedPart = strtr($transformedPart, self::$excelDateFormatToPHPDateFormatMapping[self::KEY_HOUR_24]);
+            }
+
+            // overwrite the parts array with the new transformed part
+            $dateFormatParts[$partIndex] = $transformedPart;
+        }
+
+        // Merge all transformed parts back together
+        $phpDateFormat = implode('"', $dateFormatParts);
+
+        // Finally, to have the date format compatible with the DateTime::format() function, we need to escape
+        // all characters that are inside double quotes (and double quotes must be removed).
+        // For instance, ["Day " dd] should become [\D\a\y\ dd]
+        $phpDateFormat = preg_replace_callback('/"(.+?)"/', function($matches) {
+            $stringToEscape = $matches[1];
+            $letters = preg_split('//u', $stringToEscape, -1, PREG_SPLIT_NO_EMPTY);
+            return '\\' . implode('\\', $letters);
+        }, $phpDateFormat);
+
+        return $phpDateFormat;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * @param string $excelDateFormat Date format as defined by Excel
+     * @return bool Whether the given date format has the 12-hour format marker
+     */
+    private static function has12HourFormatMarker($excelDateFormat)
+    {
+        return (stripos($excelDateFormat, 'am/pm') !== false);
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/Spout/Reader/XLSX/Helper/SheetHelper.php b/src/Spout/Reader/XLSX/Helper/SheetHelper.php
index 23a2b08..5f74f44 100644
--- a/src/Spout/Reader/XLSX/Helper/SheetHelper.php
+++ b/src/Spout/Reader/XLSX/Helper/SheetHelper.php
@@ -30,6 +30,9 @@ class SheetHelper
     /** @var \Box\Spout\Common\Helper\GlobalFunctionsHelper Helper to work with global functions */
     protected $globalFunctionsHelper;
 
+    /** @var bool Whether date/time values should be returned as PHP objects or be formatted as strings */
+    protected $shouldFormatDates;
+
     /** @var \Box\Spout\Reader\Wrapper\SimpleXMLElement XML element representing the workbook.xml.rels file */
     protected $workbookXMLRelsAsXMLElement;
 
@@ -40,12 +43,14 @@ class SheetHelper
      * @param string $filePath Path of the XLSX file being read
      * @param \Box\Spout\Reader\XLSX\Helper\SharedStringsHelper Helper to work with shared strings
      * @param \Box\Spout\Common\Helper\GlobalFunctionsHelper $globalFunctionsHelper
+     * @param bool $shouldFormatDates Whether date/time values should be returned as PHP objects or be formatted as strings
      */
-    public function __construct($filePath, $sharedStringsHelper, $globalFunctionsHelper)
+    public function __construct($filePath, $sharedStringsHelper, $globalFunctionsHelper, $shouldFormatDates)
     {
         $this->filePath = $filePath;
         $this->sharedStringsHelper = $sharedStringsHelper;
         $this->globalFunctionsHelper = $globalFunctionsHelper;
+        $this->shouldFormatDates = $shouldFormatDates;
     }
 
     /**
@@ -103,7 +108,7 @@ class SheetHelper
         // In [Content_Types].xml, the path is "/xl/worksheets/sheet1.xml"
         $sheetDataXMLFilePath = '/xl/' . $relationshipNode->getAttribute('Target');
 
-        return new Sheet($this->filePath, $sheetDataXMLFilePath, $this->sharedStringsHelper, $sheetIndexZeroBased, $sheetName);
+        return new Sheet($this->filePath, $sheetDataXMLFilePath, $this->sharedStringsHelper, $this->shouldFormatDates, $sheetIndexZeroBased, $sheetName);
     }
 
     /**
diff --git a/src/Spout/Reader/XLSX/Helper/StyleHelper.php b/src/Spout/Reader/XLSX/Helper/StyleHelper.php
index 19014b5..462433c 100644
--- a/src/Spout/Reader/XLSX/Helper/StyleHelper.php
+++ b/src/Spout/Reader/XLSX/Helper/StyleHelper.php
@@ -30,6 +30,25 @@ class StyleHelper
     /** By convention, default style ID is 0 */
     const DEFAULT_STYLE_ID = 0;
 
+    /**
+     * @see https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff529597(v=office.12).aspx
+     * @var array Mapping between built-in numFmtId and the associated format - for dates only
+     */
+    protected static $builtinNumFmtIdToNumFormatMapping = [
+        14 => 'm/d/yyyy', // @NOTE: ECMA spec is 'mm-dd-yy'
+        15 => 'd-mmm-yy',
+        16 => 'd-mmm',
+        17 => 'mmm-yy',
+        18 => 'h:mm AM/PM',
+        19 => 'h:mm:ss AM/PM',
+        20 => 'h:mm',
+        21 => 'h:mm:ss',
+        22 => 'm/d/yyyy h:mm', // @NOTE: ECMA spec is 'm/d/yy h:mm',
+        45 => 'mm:ss',
+        46 => '[h]:mm:ss',
+        47 => 'mm:ss.0',  // @NOTE: ECMA spec is 'mmss.0',
+    ];
+
     /** @var string Path of the XLSX file being read */
     protected $filePath;
 
@@ -194,7 +213,7 @@ class StyleHelper
      */
     protected function isNumFmtIdBuiltInDateFormat($numFmtId)
     {
-        $builtInDateFormatIds = [14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 45, 46, 47];
+        $builtInDateFormatIds = array_keys(self::$builtinNumFmtIdToNumFormatMapping);
         return in_array($numFmtId, $builtInDateFormatIds);
     }
 
@@ -235,4 +254,27 @@ class StyleHelper
 
         return $hasFoundDateFormatCharacter;
     }
+
+    /**
+     * Returns the format as defined in "styles.xml" of the given style.
+     * NOTE: It is assumed that the style DOES have a number format associated to it.
+     *
+     * @param int $styleId Zero-based style ID
+     * @return string The number format associated with the given style
+     */
+    public function getNumberFormat($styleId)
+    {
+        $stylesAttributes = $this->getStylesAttributes();
+        $styleAttributes = $stylesAttributes[$styleId];
+        $numFmtId = $styleAttributes[self::XML_ATTRIBUTE_NUM_FMT_ID];
+
+        if ($this->isNumFmtIdBuiltInDateFormat($numFmtId)) {
+            $numberFormat = self::$builtinNumFmtIdToNumFormatMapping[$numFmtId];
+        } else {
+            $customNumberFormats = $this->getCustomNumberFormats();
+            $numberFormat = $customNumberFormats[$numFmtId];
+        }
+
+        return $numberFormat;
+    }
 }
diff --git a/src/Spout/Reader/XLSX/Reader.php b/src/Spout/Reader/XLSX/Reader.php
index 42c6f02..bcf02cc 100644
--- a/src/Spout/Reader/XLSX/Reader.php
+++ b/src/Spout/Reader/XLSX/Reader.php
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ class Reader extends AbstractReader
                 $this->sharedStringsHelper->extractSharedStrings();
             }
 
-            $this->sheetIterator = new SheetIterator($filePath, $this->sharedStringsHelper, $this->globalFunctionsHelper);
+            $this->sheetIterator = new SheetIterator($filePath, $this->sharedStringsHelper, $this->globalFunctionsHelper, $this->shouldFormatDates);
         } else {
             throw new IOException("Could not open $filePath for reading.");
         }
diff --git a/src/Spout/Reader/XLSX/RowIterator.php b/src/Spout/Reader/XLSX/RowIterator.php
index d1913bd..c7491ac 100644
--- a/src/Spout/Reader/XLSX/RowIterator.php
+++ b/src/Spout/Reader/XLSX/RowIterator.php
@@ -59,8 +59,9 @@ class RowIterator implements IteratorInterface
      * @param string $filePath Path of the XLSX file being read
      * @param string $sheetDataXMLFilePath Path of the sheet data XML file as in [Content_Types].xml
      * @param Helper\SharedStringsHelper $sharedStringsHelper Helper to work with shared strings
+     * @param bool $shouldFormatDates Whether date/time values should be returned as PHP objects or be formatted as strings
      */
-    public function __construct($filePath, $sheetDataXMLFilePath, $sharedStringsHelper)
+    public function __construct($filePath, $sheetDataXMLFilePath, $sharedStringsHelper, $shouldFormatDates)
     {
         $this->filePath = $filePath;
         $this->sheetDataXMLFilePath = $this->normalizeSheetDataXMLFilePath($sheetDataXMLFilePath);
@@ -68,7 +69,7 @@ class RowIterator implements IteratorInterface
         $this->xmlReader = new XMLReader();
 
         $this->styleHelper = new StyleHelper($filePath);
-        $this->cellValueFormatter = new CellValueFormatter($sharedStringsHelper, $this->styleHelper);
+        $this->cellValueFormatter = new CellValueFormatter($sharedStringsHelper, $this->styleHelper, $shouldFormatDates);
     }
 
     /**
diff --git a/src/Spout/Reader/XLSX/Sheet.php b/src/Spout/Reader/XLSX/Sheet.php
index 85a4dc9..a1c7d95 100644
--- a/src/Spout/Reader/XLSX/Sheet.php
+++ b/src/Spout/Reader/XLSX/Sheet.php
@@ -25,12 +25,13 @@ class Sheet implements SheetInterface
      * @param string $filePath Path of the XLSX file being read
      * @param string $sheetDataXMLFilePath Path of the sheet data XML file as in [Content_Types].xml
      * @param Helper\SharedStringsHelper Helper to work with shared strings
+     * @param bool $shouldFormatDates Whether date/time values should be returned as PHP objects or be formatted as strings
      * @param int $sheetIndex Index of the sheet, based on order in the workbook (zero-based)
      * @param string $sheetName Name of the sheet
      */
-    public function __construct($filePath, $sheetDataXMLFilePath, $sharedStringsHelper, $sheetIndex, $sheetName)
+    public function __construct($filePath, $sheetDataXMLFilePath, $sharedStringsHelper, $shouldFormatDates, $sheetIndex, $sheetName)
     {
-        $this->rowIterator = new RowIterator($filePath, $sheetDataXMLFilePath, $sharedStringsHelper);
+        $this->rowIterator = new RowIterator($filePath, $sheetDataXMLFilePath, $sharedStringsHelper, $shouldFormatDates);
         $this->index = $sheetIndex;
         $this->name = $sheetName;
     }
diff --git a/src/Spout/Reader/XLSX/SheetIterator.php b/src/Spout/Reader/XLSX/SheetIterator.php
index 7b3d3dd..f7a3f59 100644
--- a/src/Spout/Reader/XLSX/SheetIterator.php
+++ b/src/Spout/Reader/XLSX/SheetIterator.php
@@ -24,12 +24,13 @@ class SheetIterator implements IteratorInterface
      * @param string $filePath Path of the file to be read
      * @param \Box\Spout\Reader\XLSX\Helper\SharedStringsHelper $sharedStringsHelper
      * @param \Box\Spout\Common\Helper\GlobalFunctionsHelper $globalFunctionsHelper
+     * @param bool $shouldFormatDates Whether date/time values should be returned as PHP objects or be formatted as strings
      * @throws \Box\Spout\Reader\Exception\NoSheetsFoundException If there are no sheets in the file
      */
-    public function __construct($filePath, $sharedStringsHelper, $globalFunctionsHelper)
+    public function __construct($filePath, $sharedStringsHelper, $globalFunctionsHelper, $shouldFormatDates)
     {
         // Fetch all available sheets
-        $sheetHelper = new SheetHelper($filePath, $sharedStringsHelper, $globalFunctionsHelper);
+        $sheetHelper = new SheetHelper($filePath, $sharedStringsHelper, $globalFunctionsHelper, $shouldFormatDates);
         $this->sheets = $sheetHelper->getSheets();
 
         if (count($this->sheets) === 0) {
diff --git a/tests/Spout/Reader/ODS/ReaderTest.php b/tests/Spout/Reader/ODS/ReaderTest.php
index 4c95fd9..759d842 100644
--- a/tests/Spout/Reader/ODS/ReaderTest.php
+++ b/tests/Spout/Reader/ODS/ReaderTest.php
@@ -164,6 +164,21 @@ class ReaderTest extends \PHPUnit_Framework_TestCase
         $this->assertEquals($expectedRows, $allRows);
     }
 
+    /**
+     * @return void
+     */
+    public function testReadShouldSupportFormatDatesAndTimesIfSpecified()
+    {
+        $shouldFormatDates = true;
+        $allRows = $this->getAllRowsForFile('sheet_with_dates_and_times.ods', $shouldFormatDates);
+
+        $expectedRows = [
+            ['05/19/2016', '5/19/16', '05/19/2016 16:39:00', '05/19/16 04:39 PM', '5/19/2016'],
+            ['11:29', '13:23:45', '01:23:45', '01:23:45 AM', '01:23:45 PM'],
+        ];
+        $this->assertEquals($expectedRows, $allRows);
+    }
+
     /**
      * @return void
      */
@@ -455,14 +470,16 @@ class ReaderTest extends \PHPUnit_Framework_TestCase
 
     /**
      * @param string $fileName
+     * @param bool|void $shouldFormatDates
      * @return array All the read rows the given file
      */
-    private function getAllRowsForFile($fileName)
+    private function getAllRowsForFile($fileName, $shouldFormatDates = false)
     {
         $allRows = [];
         $resourcePath = $this->getResourcePath($fileName);
 
         $reader = ReaderFactory::create(Type::ODS);
+        $reader->setShouldFormatDates($shouldFormatDates);
         $reader->open($resourcePath);
 
         foreach ($reader->getSheetIterator() as $sheetIndex => $sheet) {
diff --git a/tests/Spout/Reader/XLSX/Helper/CellValueFormatterTest.php b/tests/Spout/Reader/XLSX/Helper/CellValueFormatterTest.php
index 6ea5b92..92831ab 100644
--- a/tests/Spout/Reader/XLSX/Helper/CellValueFormatterTest.php
+++ b/tests/Spout/Reader/XLSX/Helper/CellValueFormatterTest.php
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ class CellValueFormatterTest extends \PHPUnit_Framework_TestCase
             ->with(123)
             ->will($this->returnValue(true));
 
-        $formatter = new CellValueFormatter(null, $styleHelperMock);
+        $formatter = new CellValueFormatter(null, $styleHelperMock, false);
         $result = $formatter->extractAndFormatNodeValue($nodeMock);
 
         if ($expectedDateAsString === null) {
@@ -120,7 +120,7 @@ class CellValueFormatterTest extends \PHPUnit_Framework_TestCase
             ->method('shouldFormatNumericValueAsDate')
             ->will($this->returnValue(false));
 
-        $formatter = new CellValueFormatter(null, $styleHelperMock);
+        $formatter = new CellValueFormatter(null, $styleHelperMock, false);
         $formattedValue = \ReflectionHelper::callMethodOnObject($formatter, 'formatNumericCellValue', $value, 0);
 
         $this->assertEquals($expectedFormattedValue, $formattedValue);
@@ -163,7 +163,7 @@ class CellValueFormatterTest extends \PHPUnit_Framework_TestCase
             ->with(CellValueFormatter::XML_NODE_INLINE_STRING_VALUE)
             ->will($this->returnValue($nodeListMock));
 
-        $formatter = new CellValueFormatter(null, null);
+        $formatter = new CellValueFormatter(null, null, false);
         $formattedValue = \ReflectionHelper::callMethodOnObject($formatter, 'formatInlineStringCellValue', $nodeMock);
 
         $this->assertEquals($expectedFormattedValue, $formattedValue);
diff --git a/tests/Spout/Reader/XLSX/Helper/DateFormatHelperTest.php b/tests/Spout/Reader/XLSX/Helper/DateFormatHelperTest.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b6d852c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/Spout/Reader/XLSX/Helper/DateFormatHelperTest.php
@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+<?php
+
+namespace Box\Spout\Reader\XLSX\Helper;
+
+/**
+ * Class DateFormatHelperTest
+ *
+ * @package Box\Spout\Reader\XLSX\Helper
+ */
+class DateFormatHelperTest extends \PHPUnit_Framework_TestCase
+{
+    /**
+     * @return array
+     */
+    public function dataProviderForTestToPHPDateFormat()
+    {
+        return [
+            // Excel date format, expected PHP date format
+            ['m/d/yy hh:mm', 'n/j/y H:i'],
+            ['mmm-yy', 'M-y'],
+            ['d-mmm-yy', 'j-M-y'],
+            ['m/dd/yyyy', 'n/d/Y'],
+            ['e mmmmm dddd', 'Y M l'],
+            ['MMMM DDD', 'F D'],
+            ['hh:mm:ss.s', 'H:i:s'],
+            ['h:mm:ss AM/PM', 'g:i:s A'],
+            ['hh:mm AM/PM', 'h:i A'],
+            ['[$-409]hh:mm AM/PM', 'h:i A'],
+            ['[$USD-F480]hh:mm AM/PM', 'h:i A'],
+            ['"Day " d', '\\D\\a\\y\\  j'],
+            ['yy "Year" m "Month"', 'y \\Y\\e\\a\\r n \\M\\o\\n\\t\\h'],
+        ];
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * @dataProvider dataProviderForTestToPHPDateFormat
+     *
+     * @param string $excelDateFormat
+     * @param string $expectedPHPDateFormat
+     * @return void
+     */
+    public function testToPHPDateFormat($excelDateFormat, $expectedPHPDateFormat)
+    {
+        $phpDateFormat = DateFormatHelper::toPHPDateFormat($excelDateFormat);
+        $this->assertEquals($expectedPHPDateFormat, $phpDateFormat);
+    }
+}
diff --git a/tests/Spout/Reader/XLSX/ReaderTest.php b/tests/Spout/Reader/XLSX/ReaderTest.php
index ee36266..8620ed5 100644
--- a/tests/Spout/Reader/XLSX/ReaderTest.php
+++ b/tests/Spout/Reader/XLSX/ReaderTest.php
@@ -203,6 +203,21 @@ class ReaderTest extends \PHPUnit_Framework_TestCase
         $this->assertEquals($expectedRows, $allRows);
     }
 
+    /**
+     * @return void
+     */
+    public function testReadShouldSupportFormatDatesAndTimesIfSpecified()
+    {
+        $shouldFormatDates = true;
+        $allRows = $this->getAllRowsForFile('sheet_with_dates_and_times.xlsx', $shouldFormatDates);
+
+        $expectedRows = [
+            ['1/13/2016', '01/13/2016', '13-Jan-16', 'Wednesday January 13, 16', 'Today is 1/13/2016'],
+            ['4:43:25', '04:43', '4:43', '4:43:25 AM', '4:43:25 PM'],
+        ];
+        $this->assertEquals($expectedRows, $allRows);
+    }
+
     /**
      * @return void
      */
@@ -503,14 +518,16 @@ class ReaderTest extends \PHPUnit_Framework_TestCase
 
     /**
      * @param string $fileName
+     * @param bool|void $shouldFormatDates
      * @return array All the read rows the given file
      */
-    private function getAllRowsForFile($fileName)
+    private function getAllRowsForFile($fileName, $shouldFormatDates = false)
     {
         $allRows = [];
         $resourcePath = $this->getResourcePath($fileName);
 
         $reader = ReaderFactory::create(Type::XLSX);
+        $reader->setShouldFormatDates($shouldFormatDates);
         $reader->open($resourcePath);
 
         foreach ($reader->getSheetIterator() as $sheetIndex => $sheet) {
diff --git a/tests/resources/ods/sheet_with_dates_and_times.ods b/tests/resources/ods/sheet_with_dates_and_times.ods
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0e0fb5f
Binary files /dev/null and b/tests/resources/ods/sheet_with_dates_and_times.ods differ
diff --git a/tests/resources/xlsx/sheet_with_dates_and_times.xlsx b/tests/resources/xlsx/sheet_with_dates_and_times.xlsx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..769e03b
Binary files /dev/null and b/tests/resources/xlsx/sheet_with_dates_and_times.xlsx differ