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 | 86 | 50 | 63 | 73 | -11 | 16 |
| FY2016 | 70 | 56 | 46 | 80 | -17 | 13 |
| FY2017 | 83 | 45 | 51 | 78 | -4 | 13 |
| FY2018 | 90 | 57 | 74 | 73 | 0 | 16 |
| FY2019 | 77 | 45 | 45 | 77 | 12 | 16 |
| FY2020 | 88 | 54 | 80 | 62 | 24 | 18 |
| FY2021 | 55 | 94 | 67 | 82 | 34 | 36 |
| FY2022 | 99 | 143 | 94 | 148 | 40 | 20 |
| FY2023 | 110 | 199 | 81 | 228 | 27 | 14 |
| FY2024 | 139 | 206 | 128 | 217 | 0 | 8 |
| FY2025 | 169 | 206 | 127 | 248 | 141 | 11 |
| FY2026 | 140 | 249 | 133 | 256 | 132 | 11 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.