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 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2012 | 35 | — | — | 35 | 137 | 16.29 |
| FY2013 | 15.43 | — | — | 15.43 | 95 | 10.21 |
| FY2014 | 90.61 | 1,088 | 716 | 463 | 169 | 15.74 |
| FY2015 | 160 | — | — | 160 | 190 | 2.52 |
| FY2016 | 64.97 | — | — | 64.97 | 124 | 8.54 |
| FY2017 | 86.59 | — | — | 86.59 | 129 | 7.94 |
| FY2018 | 69.23 | — | — | 69.23 | 114 | 10.27 |
| FY2019 | 81.24 | 1,466 | 1,219 | 328 | 133 | 4.84 |
| FY2020 | 31.71 | — | — | 31.71 | 26.32 | -24.55 |
| FY2021 | 72.16 | 2,928 | 648 | 2,351 | -18.81 | -18.64 |
| FY2022 | 112 | — | — | 112 | -27.66 | -3.69 |
| FY2023 | 119 | — | — | 119 | -32.49 | 0.44 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.