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 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2012 | 237 | 93 | 227 | 103 | 35 | — |
| FY2013 | 191 | 63 | 223 | 30 | -5 | 11 |
| FY2014 | 193 | 77 | 118 | 152 | 36 | 9 |
| FY2015 | 335 | 72 | 189 | 218 | 50 | -12 |
| FY2016 | 292 | 90 | 208 | 174 | 106 | -2 |
| FY2017 | 303 | 118 | 168 | 253 | -39 | -7 |
| FY2018 | 195 | 102 | 273 | 24 | -113 | -36 |
| FY2019 | 208 | 122 | 519 | -190 | -210 | -22 |
| FY2020 | 52 | 208 | 229 | 31 | 90 | -3 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.