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 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2013 | 13 | 60 | 129 | -56 | -426 | 4 |
| FY2014 | 16 | 76 | 173 | -81 | -677 | 5 |
| FY2015 | 15 | 57 | 332 | -259 | -550 | 1 |
| FY2016 | 16 | 92 | 421 | -313 | -370 | 3 |
| FY2017 | 16 | 110 | 495 | -369 | -308 | 3 |
| FY2018 | 16 | 117 | 488 | -355 | -339 | 4 |
| FY2019 | 22 | 106 | 598 | -470 | -415 | 3 |
| FY2020 | 18 | 103 | 829 | -708 | -587 | 2 |
| FY2021 | 72 | 187 | 3,033 | -2,774 | -2,422 | -2 |
| FY2022 | 31 | 97 | 1,601 | -1,474 | -1,176 | -1 |
| FY2025 | 19 | 138 | 518 | -361 | -1,099 | — |
| FY2026 | 23 | 93 | 489 | -374 | -365 | 4 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.