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 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2016 | 11 | 1,402 | 90 | 1,323 | 355 | — |
| FY2017 | 8 | 308 | 24 | 292 | 144 | 18 |
| FY2018 | 9 | 684 | 53 | 641 | 191 | 20 |
| FY2019 | 55 | 2,711 | 212 | 2,553 | 387 | 13 |
| FY2020 | 19 | 5,336 | 201 | 5,154 | 284 | 18 |
| FY2021 | 20 | 3,122 | 146 | 2,996 | 127 | 20 |
| FY2022 | 5 | — | — | 5 | -9 | 31 |
| FY2023 | 4 | — | — | 4 | -32 | 30 |
| FY2024 | 4 | 1,447 | 23 | 1,428 | -99 | 25 |
| FY2025 | 4 | 1,729 | 35 | 1,698 | 87 | 22 |
| FY2026 | 4 | 2,337 | 56 | 2,286 | 211 | 20 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.