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 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2007 | 32 | 336 | 197 | 171 | 80 | 26 |
| FY2008 | 48 | 199 | 174 | 73 | 62 | 39 |
| FY2009 | 38 | 136 | 145 | 29 | 47 | 36 |
| FY2010 | 54 | 176 | 220 | 10 | 113 | 14 |
| FY2011 | 45 | 640 | 201 | 484 | -16 | 10 |
| FY2012 | 37 | 256 | 150 | 142 | 4 | 16 |
| FY2013 | 40 | 417 | 218 | 238 | -1 | 12 |
| FY2022 | 28 | 145 | 177 | -4 | -71 | — |
| FY2023 | 23 | 249 | 213 | 59 | -43 | -4 |
| FY2024 | 24 | 249 | 257 | 16 | -39 | -2 |
| FY2025 | 21 | 229 | 320 | -69 | -98 | -9 |
| FY2026 | 11 | 248 | 262 | -3 | -7 | 0 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.