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 | 137 | 584 | 0 | 721 | 1,721 | — |
| FY2008 | 825 | 218 | 0 | 1,043 | 1,151 | 11 |
| FY2009 | 235 | — | — | 235 | 420 | 8 |
| FY2010 | 98 | — | — | 98 | 354 | 20 |
| FY2011 | 68 | — | — | 68 | -73 | 18 |
| FY2012 | 57 | — | — | 57 | -185 | 15 |
| FY2013 | 41 | — | — | 41 | -118 | 12 |
| FY2014 | 55 | — | — | 55 | -109 | 9 |
| FY2015 | 59 | — | — | 59 | -205 | 9 |
| FY2016 | 46 | — | — | 46 | -154 | 9 |
| FY2017 | 45 | — | — | 45 | -238 | 10 |
| FY2018 | 55 | — | — | 55 | -213 | 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.