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 | 47 | 188 | 69 | 165 | 157 | — |
| FY2008 | 119 | 263 | 104 | 279 | 286 | 9 |
| FY2009 | 99 | 203 | 120 | 182 | 202 | -3 |
| FY2018 | 61 | 228 | 21 | 268 | 75 | — |
| FY2019 | 61 | 203 | 25 | 239 | 57 | 10 |
| FY2020 | 53 | 161 | 18 | 196 | 60 | 11 |
| FY2021 | 78 | 169 | 32 | 215 | 51 | 14 |
| FY2022 | 59 | 192 | 36 | 215 | 32 | 20 |
| FY2023 | 63 | 121 | 24 | 160 | 4 | 19 |
| FY2024 | 49 | 189 | 26 | 211 | 29 | 16 |
| FY2025 | 48 | 211 | 43 | 216 | 46 | 12 |
| FY2026 | 45 | 141 | 25 | 161 | 20 | 10 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.