How to read this: these lines track how the company manages day-to-day cash. Debtor days is how long customers take to pay; inventory days is how long stock sits before selling; days payable is how long the company takes to pay its own suppliers. Fewer debtor and inventory days generally means cash comes in faster; more days payable means the company holds its cash longer. The right level varies a lot by industry, so the trend over time matters more than any single number.
How to read this: return on capital employed (ROCE) shows how much operating profit the company earns from every unit of capital it uses, as a percentage. A higher, steady line over the years suggests the business uses its capital efficiently. As with most ratios, the multi-year trend tells you more than any single year.
| Period | Debtor Days | Inventory Days | Days Payable | Cash Conversion Cycle | Working Capital Days | ROCE % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2010 | 66 | 250 | 165 | 150 | 94 | 12 |
| FY2011 | 56 | 248 | 96 | 208 | 36 | 15 |
| FY2012 | 62 | 236 | 94 | 204 | -20 | 13 |
| FY2013 | 82 | 273 | 109 | 247 | 6 | 9 |
| FY2014 | 84 | 250 | 85 | 250 | -10 | 7 |
| FY2015 | 78 | 237 | 72 | 242 | 23 | 10 |
| FY2016 | 72 | 235 | 74 | 232 | 20 | 10 |
| FY2017 | 70 | 223 | 89 | 204 | -16 | 8 |
| FY2018 | 83 | 232 | 89 | 226 | 0 | 7 |
| FY2019 | 79 | 184 | 85 | 178 | 37 | 7 |
| FY2025 | 57 | 193 | 79 | 172 | 19 | — |
| FY2026 | 54 | 215 | 81 | 188 | 28 | 20 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.