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 | 4 | 78 | 153 | -71 | -68 | 76 |
| FY2016 | 40 | — | — | 40 | -35 | 69 |
| FY2017 | 66 | 229 | 267 | 28 | 57 | 46 |
| FY2018 | 84 | 204 | 111 | 178 | 119 | 3 |
| FY2019 | 81 | 84 | 49 | 116 | 116 | -19 |
| FY2020 | 56 | 99 | 80 | 75 | 59 | -12 |
| FY2021 | 49 | 51 | 27 | 73 | 95 | 7 |
| FY2022 | 40 | 127 | 60 | 106 | 112 | -12 |
| FY2023 | 88 | 101 | 68 | 121 | 104 | 21 |
| FY2024 | 79 | 138 | 31 | 187 | 117 | 35 |
| FY2025 | 44 | 66 | 29 | 81 | 70 | 53 |
| FY2026 | 62 | 101 | 22 | 141 | 100 | 30 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.