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 | 102 | 141 | 133 | 110 | -35 | 16 |
| FY2016 | 91 | 157 | 147 | 101 | -55 | 14 |
| FY2017 | 120 | 232 | 231 | 122 | -55 | 13 |
| FY2018 | 120 | 397 | 310 | 207 | -38 | 20 |
| FY2019 | 105 | 430 | 225 | 310 | -8 | 21 |
| FY2020 | 220 | 335 | 300 | 255 | 87 | 16 |
| FY2021 | 213 | 340 | 276 | 277 | 118 | 8 |
| FY2022 | 155 | 315 | 203 | 267 | 148 | 8 |
| FY2023 | 97 | 188 | 146 | 139 | 88 | 20 |
| FY2024 | 42 | — | — | 42 | 73 | 22 |
| FY2025 | 88 | — | — | 88 | 75 | 18 |
| FY2026 | 148 | — | — | 148 | 125 | 15 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.