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 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2009 | 48 | 92 | 28 | 112 | 149 | 23 |
| FY2010 | 64 | 101 | 51 | 114 | 164 | 21 |
| FY2011 | 56 | 102 | 33 | 126 | 72 | 20 |
| FY2012 | 48 | 136 | 54 | 130 | 48 | 17 |
| FY2013 | 66 | 147 | 75 | 138 | 40 | 13 |
| FY2014 | 38 | 160 | 19 | 179 | 44 | 12 |
| FY2015 | 75 | 158 | 27 | 206 | 85 | 1 |
| FY2016 | 128 | 140 | 71 | 198 | 46 | -2 |
| FY2017 | 113 | 127 | 13 | 228 | 45 | -29 |
| FY2024 | 62 | 176 | 151 | 87 | 59 | — |
| FY2025 | 57 | 81 | 78 | 60 | 10 | — |
| FY2026 | 89 | 88 | 84 | 93 | 82 | 26 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.