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 | 450 | 671 | 17 | 1,104 | 1,826 | — |
| FY2008 | 161 | 192 | 24 | 330 | 899 | 16 |
| FY2009 | 575 | 1,725 | 103 | 2,197 | 4,317 | 1 |
| FY2010 | 373 | 591 | 32 | 932 | 2,837 | -1 |
| FY2011 | 7 | 555 | 46 | 516 | 2,482 | 4 |
| FY2012 | 17 | 194 | 5 | 206 | 999 | 7 |
| FY2013 | 3 | 2,123 | 2 | 2,125 | 1,752 | 5 |
| FY2014 | 3 | — | — | 3 | 4,295 | 5 |
| FY2015 | 6 | — | — | 6 | 9,051 | 2 |
| FY2016 | 24 | 62 | 0 | 86 | 1,106 | 3 |
| FY2017 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 4,002 | 3 |
| FY2018 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 4,218 | 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.