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 | 64 | 85 | 107 | 42 | 44 | — |
| 2006Dec | 78 | 108 | 144 | 41 | 38 | — |
| 2007Dec | 61 | 79 | 109 | 32 | 43 | 25 |
| 2008Dec | 53 | 69 | 73 | 49 | 34 | 34 |
| 2009Dec | 57 | 54 | 92 | 20 | 19 | 56 |
| 2010Dec | 48 | 60 | 109 | -1 | -4 | 48 |
| 2011Dec | 51 | 74 | 109 | 16 | 4 | 36 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.