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 | 13 | 192 | 246 | -41 | 67 | -4 |
| FY2016 | 22 | 206 | 235 | -7 | 62 | 7 |
| FY2017 | 12 | 366 | 339 | 39 | 17 | 7 |
| FY2018 | 11 | 212 | 251 | -29 | 22 | 2 |
| FY2019 | 11 | 175 | 264 | -78 | -4 | 2 |
| FY2020 | 9 | 182 | 299 | -107 | -12 | 3 |
| FY2021 | 12 | 169 | 297 | -116 | -38 | 0 |
| FY2022 | 14 | 228 | 340 | -98 | -119 | 0 |
| FY2023 | 8 | 184 | 321 | -129 | -160 | 1 |
| FY2024 | 9 | 204 | 270 | -56 | -175 | 1 |
| FY2025 | 7 | 221 | 292 | -64 | -445 | 2 |
| FY2026 | 7 | 203 | 267 | -58 | -184 | 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.