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 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2008 | 64.77 | 108 | 79.96 | 92.70 | 42.24 | 16.22 |
| FY2010 | 36.73 | 166 | 106 | 96.37 | 80.58 | — |
| FY2011 | 18.55 | 188 | 80.39 | 126 | -70.39 | 9.72 |
| FY2012 | 21.37 | 200 | 97.53 | 124 | -33.55 | 8.54 |
| FY2013 | 30.69 | 235 | 157 | 109 | -24.73 | 10.60 |
| FY2014 | 52.65 | 259 | 200 | 112 | -14.59 | 10.35 |
| FY2015 | 67.36 | 327 | 209 | 185 | 7.50 | 4.27 |
| FY2016 | 68.04 | 308 | 197 | 179 | -10.70 | 1.36 |
| FY2017 | 104 | 275 | 218 | 161 | -40.35 | 3.27 |
| FY2018 | 124 | 219 | 231 | 113 | 211 | -10.96 |
| FY2019 | 9.89 | 206 | 198 | 17.30 | 105 | -32.07 |
| FY2020 | 54.02 | 146 | 519 | -319 | 355 | 1.46 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.