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 | 88 | 132 | 142 | 78 | 14 | 11 |
| FY2016 | 105 | 145 | 163 | 87 | 50 | 7 |
| FY2017 | 99 | 172 | 171 | 100 | 26 | 8 |
| FY2018 | 111 | 240 | 182 | 168 | 45 | 8 |
| FY2019 | 105 | 217 | 147 | 175 | 25 | 7 |
| FY2020 | 106 | 292 | 167 | 231 | -11 | 0 |
| FY2021 | 98 | 146 | 114 | 130 | 11 | 10 |
| FY2022 | 98 | 162 | 143 | 117 | 18 | 12 |
| FY2023 | 113 | 207 | 167 | 153 | 13 | 10 |
| FY2024 | 107 | 167 | 147 | 127 | 12 | 12 |
| FY2025 | 111 | 238 | 189 | 161 | 6 | 10 |
| FY2026 | 110 | 269 | 206 | 173 | 7 | 10 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.