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 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014Dec | 13 | 233 | 139 | 106 | -54 | 15 |
| 2015Dec | 15 | 235 | 173 | 77 | -53 | 12 |
| 2016Dec | 18 | 278 | 286 | 10 | -64 | 11 |
| 2017Dec | 18 | 261 | 337 | -58 | -51 | 16 |
| 2018Dec | 21 | 263 | 301 | -17 | -28 | 16 |
| 2019Dec | 15 | 153 | 198 | -30 | -42 | 19 |
| 2020Dec | 12 | 131 | 207 | -64 | -63 | 16 |
| 2021Dec | 10 | 162 | 243 | -70 | -71 | 19 |
| FY2023 | 14 | 109 | 110 | 13 | 36 | 9 |
| FY2024 | 15 | 112 | 111 | 16 | 18 | 17 |
| FY2025 | 20 | 85 | 73 | 32 | 6 | 17 |
| FY2026 | 54 | 58 | 80 | 32 | 71 | 11 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.