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 | 9 | 39 | 56 | -8 | -19 | 28 |
| FY2016 | 10 | 39 | 58 | -9 | -13 | 36 |
| FY2017 | 9 | 47 | 50 | 5 | 21 | 27 |
| FY2018 | 13 | 43 | 60 | -4 | 14 | 21 |
| FY2019 | 15 | 48 | 64 | -1 | 21 | 27 |
| FY2020 | 11 | 43 | 56 | -1 | -11 | 24 |
| FY2021 | 9 | 56 | 64 | 1 | -24 | 24 |
| FY2022 | 10 | 59 | 54 | 14 | -39 | 16 |
| FY2023 | 9 | 47 | 55 | 1 | -56 | 16 |
| FY2024 | 10 | 47 | 63 | -6 | -35 | 28 |
| FY2025 | 10 | 44 | 61 | -7 | -27 | 36 |
| FY2026 | 10 | 45 | 63 | -8 | -30 | 33 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.