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 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2006 | 85 | 415 | 200 | 301 | 162 | — |
| FY2007 | 79 | 413 | 190 | 302 | 165 | 17 |
| FY2008 | 105 | 465 | 209 | 361 | 212 | 15 |
| FY2009 | 91 | 437 | 186 | 342 | 211 | 12 |
| FY2010 | 94 | 548 | 245 | 397 | 213 | 12 |
| FY2011 | 80 | 421 | 218 | 282 | 43 | 15 |
| FY2012 | 79 | 475 | 171 | 383 | 39 | 13 |
| FY2013 | 84 | 593 | 129 | 548 | 46 | 11 |
| FY2014 | 85 | 575 | 131 | 529 | 55 | 3 |
| FY2015 | 82 | 539 | 167 | 454 | 68 | 12 |
| FY2016 | 73 | 404 | 146 | 331 | -11 | 3 |
| FY2017 | 78 | 604 | 168 | 515 | -83 | 0 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.