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 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2013 | 174 | — | — | 174 | 391 | 3 |
| FY2014 | 166 | — | — | 166 | 403 | 3 |
| FY2015 | 239 | — | — | 239 | 575 | 2 |
| FY2016 | 310 | — | — | 310 | 500 | 3 |
| FY2017 | 323 | — | — | 323 | 786 | 2 |
| FY2018 | 317 | — | — | 317 | 792 | 0 |
| FY2019 | 109 | — | — | 109 | -36 | 2 |
| FY2020 | 40 | — | — | 40 | -225 | -2 |
| FY2021 | 99 | — | — | 99 | -436 | 6 |
| FY2022 | 126 | — | — | 126 | -677 | -1 |
| FY2023 | 195 | 20,843 | 5,172 | 15,866 | -937 | -164 |
| FY2024 | 200 | — | — | 200 | -1,164 | — |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.