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 | 89 | 54 | 116 | 27 | 32 | — |
| FY2016 | 91 | 74 | 158 | 6 | 22 | 18 |
| FY2017 | 80 | 94 | 67 | 107 | 34 | 29 |
| FY2018 | 66 | 39 | 62 | 43 | 44 | 58 |
| FY2019 | 67 | 36 | 70 | 33 | 45 | 28 |
| FY2020 | 51 | 85 | 111 | 25 | 44 | 25 |
| FY2021 | 82 | 60 | 19 | 123 | 107 | 86 |
| FY2022 | 74 | 96 | 34 | 136 | 157 | 57 |
| FY2023 | 64 | 63 | 23 | 104 | 136 | 19 |
| FY2024 | 69 | 60 | 40 | 89 | 148 | 24 |
| FY2025 | 67 | 44 | 21 | 89 | 117 | 25 |
| FY2026 | 73 | 79 | 65 | 86 | 129 | 24 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.