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 | 227 | 15.99 | 198 | 44.85 | -47.96 | 8.59 |
| FY2016 | 387 | 3.46 | 401 | -10.07 | 48.50 | 9.64 |
| FY2017 | 311 | 7.29 | 305 | 13.76 | 87.65 | 18.72 |
| FY2018 | 383 | 38.11 | 341 | 79.95 | 105 | 5.06 |
| FY2019 | 190 | 21.73 | 157 | 54.90 | 50.81 | 5 |
| FY2020 | 365 | 24.37 | 374 | 15.82 | 55.69 | 10.08 |
| FY2021 | 176 | 48.85 | 178 | 46.27 | 64.12 | 12.20 |
| FY2022 | 117 | 24.20 | 11.25 | 130 | 125 | 6.20 |
| FY2023 | 249 | 16.11 | 168 | 96.80 | 104 | 4.73 |
| FY2024 | 301 | 24.81 | 268 | 57.83 | 69.37 | 4.94 |
| FY2025 | 419 | 39.52 | 367 | 91.63 | 114 | 4.12 |
| FY2026 | 355 | 56.24 | 240 | 171 | 152 | 2.97 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.