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 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2011 | 18 | — | — | 18 | -50 | 15 |
| FY2012 | 27 | — | — | 27 | -19 | 14 |
| FY2013 | 24 | — | — | 24 | -59 | 13 |
| FY2014 | 9 | — | — | 9 | -36 | 13 |
| FY2015 | 45 | — | — | 45 | -24 | 4 |
| FY2016 | 46 | — | — | 46 | -83 | 6 |
| FY2017 | 41 | 607 | 99 | 549 | -73 | -2 |
| FY2018 | 27 | 557 | 110 | 474 | -74 | 2 |
| FY2021 | 33 | 489 | 45 | 477 | -26 | — |
| FY2022 | 40 | 603 | 116 | 528 | 5 | 9 |
| FY2023 | 49 | 581 | 106 | 525 | 11 | 10 |
| FY2024 | 63 | 545 | 135 | 474 | -2 | 6 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.