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 | 80 | 50 | 1,084 | -954 | -449 | — |
| FY2007 | 68 | 28 | 114 | -19 | 4 | -6 |
| FY2008 | 158 | 31 | 174 | 16 | 6 | 10 |
| FY2009 | 208 | 71 | 177 | 102 | 55 | 2 |
| FY2010 | 103 | 71 | 95 | 79 | 22 | 0 |
| FY2011 | 43 | 71 | 81 | 33 | -17 | 18 |
| FY2012 | 38 | 48 | 87 | 0 | -9 | 16 |
| FY2013 | 11 | 36 | 36 | 11 | -2 | 7 |
| FY2014 | 10 | 118 | 113 | 15 | 7 | -4 |
| FY2015 | 36 | 96 | 135 | -4 | -9 | -23 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.