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 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2011 | 41 | 127 | 27 | 141 | -4 | — |
| FY2012 | 27 | 28 | 23 | 33 | -100 | -7 |
| FY2013 | 38 | 45 | 49 | 33 | -43 | 8 |
| FY2014 | 33 | 56 | 46 | 43 | -41 | 10 |
| FY2015 | 26 | 81 | 43 | 64 | -46 | 8 |
| FY2016 | 35 | 49 | 44 | 41 | -61 | 12 |
| FY2017 | 34 | 51 | 47 | 38 | -85 | 9 |
| FY2018 | 16 | 32 | 38 | 10 | -223 | -21 |
| FY2019 | 4 | 12 | 26 | -10 | -296 | -7 |
| FY2020 | 4 | 18 | 53 | -31 | -358 | -10 |
| FY2021 | 6 | 19 | 74 | -49 | -430 | 1 |
| FY2022 | 4 | 23 | 54 | -26 | -233 | 28 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.