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 | 119 | 98 | 70 | -17 | 3 |
| FY2016 | 47 | 102 | 93 | 56 | -19 | 6 |
| FY2017 | 51 | 78 | 102 | 27 | -10 | 8 |
| FY2018 | 57 | 69 | 112 | 14 | 1 | 19 |
| FY2019 | 39 | 79 | 105 | 14 | 4 | 20 |
| FY2020 | 47 | 124 | 147 | 24 | 2 | 16 |
| FY2021 | 67 | 113 | 141 | 39 | 11 | 21 |
| FY2022 | 42 | 104 | 129 | 18 | 18 | 21 |
| FY2023 | 29 | 99 | 119 | 9 | -2 | 26 |
| FY2024 | 21 | 100 | 124 | -4 | -17 | 42 |
| FY2025 | 29 | 83 | 130 | -18 | -21 | 40 |
| FY2026 | 32 | 100 | 151 | -20 | -26 | 32 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.