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 | 58 | 278 | 37 | 300 | 159 | 25 |
| FY2016 | 69 | 184 | 28 | 226 | 143 | 17 |
| FY2017 | 65 | 205 | 39 | 231 | 119 | 17 |
| FY2018 | 71 | 186 | 68 | 188 | 116 | 14 |
| FY2019 | 88 | 341 | 82 | 347 | 166 | 11 |
| FY2020 | 69 | 235 | 43 | 261 | 151 | 15 |
| FY2021 | 77 | 258 | 59 | 275 | 159 | 19 |
| FY2022 | 67 | 263 | 45 | 284 | 163 | 27 |
| FY2023 | 76 | 342 | 44 | 373 | 177 | 25 |
| FY2024 | 78 | 365 | 97 | 346 | 172 | 16 |
| FY2025 | 102 | 431 | 146 | 388 | 171 | 13 |
| FY2026 | 123 | 348 | 143 | 327 | 167 | 14 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.