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 | 57 | 152 | 39 | 170 | 103 | 12 |
| FY2016 | 70 | 190 | 71 | 189 | 107 | 18 |
| FY2017 | 60 | 171 | 51 | 180 | 105 | 17 |
| FY2018 | 70 | 217 | 90 | 197 | 108 | 21 |
| FY2019 | 63 | 191 | 102 | 152 | 111 | 17 |
| FY2020 | 75 | 212 | 99 | 188 | 120 | 13 |
| FY2021 | 64 | 234 | 118 | 180 | 132 | 19 |
| FY2022 | 60 | 225 | 95 | 191 | 133 | 24 |
| FY2023 | 65 | 271 | 95 | 241 | 123 | 26 |
| FY2024 | 63 | 210 | 90 | 183 | 102 | 27 |
| FY2025 | 69 | 289 | 128 | 231 | 106 | 32 |
| FY2026 | 69 | 263 | 100 | 232 | 117 | 31 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.