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 | 172 | 394 | 110 | 457 | 164 | 12 |
| FY2016 | 164 | 412 | 84 | 493 | 162 | 10 |
| FY2017 | 206 | 518 | 128 | 596 | 186 | 10 |
| FY2018 | 228 | 363 | 165 | 426 | 150 | 12 |
| FY2019 | 256 | 478 | 207 | 526 | 156 | 12 |
| FY2020 | 143 | 466 | 197 | 412 | 130 | 12 |
| FY2021 | 118 | 271 | 101 | 288 | 108 | 14 |
| FY2022 | 100 | 234 | 111 | 224 | 109 | 13 |
| FY2023 | 91 | 210 | 90 | 212 | 108 | 14 |
| FY2024 | 80 | 177 | 66 | 191 | 97 | 15 |
| FY2025 | 69 | 150 | 60 | 159 | 74 | 18 |
| FY2026 | 45 | 134 | 65 | 115 | 68 | 21 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.