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 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2015 | 49 | — | — | 49 | -208 | -2 |
| FY2016 | 58 | 2 | 289 | -229 | -16 | -9 |
| FY2017 | 74 | — | — | 74 | 4 | 18 |
| FY2018 | 78 | — | — | 78 | 30 | 15 |
| FY2019 | 80 | — | — | 80 | 30 | 14 |
| FY2020 | 100 | — | — | 100 | 62 | 3 |
| FY2021 | 53 | — | — | 53 | 23 | -2 |
| FY2022 | 51 | — | — | 51 | 70 | -2 |
| FY2023 | 61 | — | — | 61 | 9 | 3 |
| FY2024 | 70 | — | — | 70 | -12 | -10 |
| FY2025 | 51 | — | — | 51 | -30 | 6 |
| FY2026 | 57 | — | — | 57 | -24 | 13 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.