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 | 7 | 59 | 24 | 42 | 15 | 65 |
| FY2016 | 7 | 68 | 34 | 41 | 28 | 62 |
| FY2017 | 3 | 63 | 44 | 22 | 15 | 57 |
| FY2018 | 5 | 79 | 43 | 41 | 29 | 74 |
| FY2019 | 5 | 51 | 24 | 32 | 25 | 33 |
| FY2020 | 8 | 61 | 24 | 44 | 36 | 32 |
| FY2021 | 6 | 63 | 27 | 42 | 34 | 26 |
| FY2022 | 8 | 85 | 26 | 67 | 57 | 15 |
| FY2023 | 9 | 71 | 25 | 55 | 45 | 18 |
| FY2024 | 10 | 75 | 27 | 57 | 48 | 20 |
| FY2025 | 9 | 75 | 21 | 64 | 39 | 24 |
| FY2026 | 9 | 79 | 20 | 67 | 38 | 24 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.