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 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2008 | 9 | — | — | 9 | 942 | 44 |
| FY2009 | 35 | — | — | 35 | 1,715 | 18 |
| FY2010 | 49 | — | — | 49 | 2,345 | 12 |
| FY2011 | 71 | — | — | 71 | 2,013 | 13 |
| FY2012 | 158 | — | — | 158 | 1,965 | 10 |
| FY2013 | 287 | — | — | 287 | 3,916 | 9 |
| FY2014 | 160 | — | — | 160 | 4,645 | 6 |
| FY2015 | 109 | — | — | 109 | 4,050 | 6 |
| FY2016 | 82 | 18,936 | 680 | 18,338 | 4,022 | 6 |
| FY2017 | 155 | — | — | 155 | 6,388 | 5 |
| FY2018 | 403 | — | — | 403 | 11,196 | 3 |
| FY2019 | 216 | 19,508 | 654 | 19,069 | 6,072 | 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.