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 | 72 | 99 | 132 | 39 | -38 | -6 |
| FY2016 | 62 | 150 | 150 | 62 | -40 | -8 |
| FY2017 | 42 | 105 | 77 | 70 | -51 | -6 |
| FY2018 | 76 | 105 | 150 | 31 | -53 | -1 |
| FY2019 | 49 | 101 | 111 | 39 | -50 | 4 |
| FY2020 | 47 | 124 | 150 | 21 | -88 | -4 |
| FY2021 | 40 | 114 | 92 | 62 | -62 | 2 |
| FY2022 | 35 | 103 | 86 | 51 | -71 | 3 |
| FY2023 | 45 | 79 | 67 | 58 | 0 | 8 |
| FY2024 | 76 | 62 | 99 | 39 | -1 | 12 |
| FY2025 | 90 | 39 | 100 | 28 | 4 | 4 |
| FY2026 | 95 | 34 | 109 | 19 | 6 | 2 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.