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 | 54 | 193 | 141 | 106 | 9 | 15 |
| FY2016 | 35 | 202 | 128 | 109 | -10 | 13 |
| FY2017 | 31 | 207 | 124 | 114 | 4 | 11 |
| FY2018 | 95 | 258 | 247 | 106 | 20 | 8 |
| FY2019 | 46 | 179 | 152 | 73 | -4 | 9 |
| FY2020 | 52 | 125 | 123 | 54 | -10 | 9 |
| FY2021 | 79 | 168 | 203 | 44 | 12 | 5 |
| FY2022 | 51 | 196 | 193 | 53 | 15 | 13 |
| FY2023 | 42 | 135 | 101 | 76 | 9 | 13 |
| FY2024 | 50 | 197 | 136 | 111 | 14 | 13 |
| FY2025 | 52 | 197 | 152 | 96 | 6 | 13 |
| FY2026 | 57 | 177 | 160 | 73 | 6 | 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.