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 | 37 | 200 | 710 | -473 | 2 | — |
| FY2008 | 35 | 206 | 742 | -500 | 3 | 13 |
| FY2009 | 18 | 244 | 549 | -287 | 22 | 11 |
| FY2010 | 27 | 216 | 599 | -355 | 32 | 10 |
| FY2011 | 30 | 193 | 366 | -142 | -233 | 12 |
| FY2012 | 30 | 163 | 333 | -139 | -174 | 13 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.