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 | 107 | 239 | 136 | 210 | 50 | 27 |
| FY2016 | 122 | 240 | 146 | 217 | 44 | 27 |
| FY2017 | 68 | 246 | 122 | 191 | 51 | 25 |
| FY2018 | 68 | 317 | 128 | 257 | 50 | 23 |
| FY2019 | 64 | 304 | 107 | 260 | 25 | 18 |
| FY2020 | 68 | 289 | 97 | 260 | 35 | 19 |
| FY2021 | 52 | 333 | 103 | 282 | 52 | 18 |
| FY2022 | 62 | 272 | 97 | 237 | 84 | 13 |
| FY2023 | 66 | 275 | 125 | 216 | 55 | 9 |
| FY2024 | 61 | 284 | 129 | 216 | 66 | 14 |
| FY2025 | 66 | 295 | 117 | 244 | 49 | 14 |
| FY2026 | 77 | 326 | 151 | 252 | 44 | 13 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.