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 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2016 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| FY2017 | 13 | 327 | 64 | 276 | -75 | 46 |
| FY2018 | 13 | 204 | 68 | 149 | -35 | 13 |
| FY2019 | 19 | 341 | 114 | 246 | 1 | 13 |
| FY2020 | 16 | 275 | 111 | 179 | 18 | 10 |
| FY2021 | 8 | 232 | 93 | 147 | 7 | 10 |
| FY2022 | 11 | 202 | 54 | 160 | 11 | 13 |
| FY2023 | 9 | 180 | 61 | 129 | -1 | 10 |
| FY2024 | 6 | 274 | 69 | 211 | 10 | 13 |
| FY2025 | 8 | 262 | 46 | 223 | 22 | 9 |
| FY2026 | 8 | 248 | 31 | 225 | 28 | 7 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.