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 | 56 | 76 | 74 | 58 | -23 | 17 |
| FY2016 | 43 | 102 | 88 | 58 | -61 | 15 |
| FY2017 | 40 | 110 | 87 | 64 | -38 | 20 |
| FY2018 | 39 | 105 | 70 | 75 | 76 | 22 |
| FY2019 | 36 | 113 | 58 | 92 | 13 | 22 |
| FY2020 | 45 | 105 | 65 | 84 | -4 | 17 |
| FY2021 | 48 | 148 | 103 | 93 | 7 | 24 |
| FY2022 | 48 | 162 | 80 | 130 | -3 | 24 |
| FY2023 | 42 | 124 | 37 | 129 | -10 | 14 |
| FY2024 | 56 | 108 | 66 | 99 | -17 | 16 |
| FY2025 | 52 | 129 | 54 | 126 | -16 | 17 |
| FY2026 | 49 | 126 | 64 | 111 | -45 | 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.