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 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2017 | 71 | 495 | 392 | 173 | 5 | — |
| FY2018 | 68 | 134 | 197 | 5 | 24 | 7 |
| FY2019 | 69 | 189 | 198 | 60 | 25 | 7 |
| FY2020 | 79 | 239 | 243 | 75 | -14 | -6 |
| FY2021 | 104 | 230 | 264 | 69 | -1 | -8 |
| FY2022 | 68 | 177 | 224 | 22 | 21 | 1 |
| FY2023 | 50 | 173 | 180 | 44 | 16 | 14 |
| FY2024 | 55 | 163 | 168 | 51 | 26 | 14 |
| FY2025 | 58 | 183 | 141 | 100 | 29 | 17 |
| FY2026 | 52 | 211 | 134 | 129 | 35 | 20 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.