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 | 164 | — | — | 164 | -40 | 27 |
| FY2016 | 179 | — | — | 179 | 115 | 20 |
| FY2017 | 282 | 1,136 | 2,291 | -873 | 77 | 40 |
| FY2018 | 417 | — | — | 417 | -43 | 27 |
| FY2019 | 503 | — | — | 503 | 287 | 15 |
| FY2020 | 303 | — | — | 303 | -198 | 15 |
| FY2021 | 478 | — | — | 478 | -72 | 22 |
| FY2022 | 421 | — | — | 421 | -53 | 27 |
| FY2023 | 459 | — | — | 459 | -38 | 16 |
| FY2024 | 150 | — | — | 150 | -317 | 29 |
| FY2025 | 143 | — | — | 143 | -201 | 21 |
| FY2026 | 174 | — | — | 174 | -355 | 11 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.