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 | 8 | 208 | 105 | 111 | 39 | 34 |
| FY2016 | 11 | 217 | 104 | 124 | 61 | 22 |
| FY2017 | 10 | 225 | 129 | 106 | 51 | 22 |
| FY2018 | 12 | 232 | 146 | 99 | 56 | 25 |
| FY2019 | 8 | 238 | 146 | 100 | 46 | 31 |
| FY2020 | 8 | 246 | 142 | 112 | 28 | 25 |
| FY2021 | 17 | 265 | 192 | 90 | 10 | 0 |
| FY2022 | 11 | 292 | 153 | 150 | 33 | 8 |
| FY2023 | 9 | 218 | 99 | 128 | 27 | 20 |
| FY2024 | 8 | 227 | 73 | 162 | 43 | 19 |
| FY2025 | 12 | 197 | 85 | 124 | 16 | 15 |
| FY2026 | 19 | 164 | 77 | 107 | 17 | 13 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.