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 | 15 | 14 | 186 | -157 | -178 | — |
| FY2007 | 9 | 18 | 186 | -160 | -173 | — |
| FY2008 | 1 | 17 | 211 | -192 | -179 | — |
| FY2009 | 21 | 36 | 70 | -13 | -18 | — |
| FY2018 | 42 | 74 | 69 | 47 | 28 | — |
| FY2019 | 50 | 73 | 70 | 53 | 29 | 21 |
| FY2020 | 46 | 80 | 74 | 53 | 33 | 18 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.