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 | 68 | 114 | 67 | 115 | 78 | — |
| FY2016 | 57 | 115 | 60 | 112 | 73 | 14 |
| FY2020 | 88 | 99 | 105 | 82 | 55 | — |
| FY2021 | 71 | 93 | 74 | 90 | 66 | 20 |
| FY2022 | 88 | 112 | 92 | 109 | 49 | -16 |
| FY2023 | 84 | 117 | 91 | 111 | 46 | 22 |
| FY2024 | 73 | 90 | 76 | 87 | 40 | 2 |
| FY2025 | 68 | 102 | 96 | 74 | 71 | 16 |
| FY2026 | 67 | 110 | 87 | 89 | 66 | 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.