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 | 30 | 157 | 203 | -16 | -15 | -13 |
| FY2016 | 54 | 141 | 174 | 21 | -28 | 4 |
| FY2017 | 29 | 121 | 184 | -34 | -36 | 15 |
| FY2018 | 35 | 229 | 257 | 7 | -8 | 19 |
| FY2019 | 40 | 186 | 266 | -39 | -14 | 27 |
| FY2020 | 37 | 197 | 251 | -17 | -16 | 34 |
| FY2021 | 38 | 198 | 221 | 15 | -17 | 30 |
| FY2022 | 39 | 164 | 223 | -20 | -34 | 16 |
| FY2023 | 39 | 193 | 231 | 1 | -18 | 31 |
| FY2024 | 43 | 140 | 121 | 62 | 20 | 31 |
| FY2025 | 39 | 208 | 173 | 74 | 22 | 33 |
| FY2026 | 34 | 272 | 207 | 99 | 50 | 29 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.