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 | 112 | 60 | 66 | 106 | 2 | — |
| FY2017 | 115 | 76 | 84 | 107 | -4 | 15 |
| FY2018 | 136 | 68 | 100 | 104 | 16 | 19 |
| FY2019 | 144 | 64 | 85 | 123 | 9 | 17 |
| FY2020 | 150 | 77 | 100 | 127 | 17 | 7 |
| FY2021 | 120 | 120 | 117 | 124 | 29 | 12 |
| FY2022 | 86 | 111 | 137 | 60 | 24 | 12 |
| FY2023 | 83 | 106 | 195 | -6 | 39 | 18 |
| FY2024 | 92 | 85 | 206 | -30 | 12 | 13 |
| FY2025 | 97 | 79 | 212 | -35 | 35 | 12 |
| FY2026 | 93 | 64 | 237 | -79 | -20 | 3 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.