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 | 22.21 | 370 | 302 | 90.20 | -1,621 | 4.23 |
| FY2016 | 18.07 | 290 | 156 | 152 | -1,562 | 4.56 |
| FY2017 | 26.52 | 84.55 | 244 | -133 | -1,422 | 3.36 |
| FY2018 | 31.52 | — | — | 31.52 | -1,378 | 4.19 |
| FY2019 | 4.08 | — | — | 4.08 | -434 | -5.97 |
| FY2020 | — | — | — | — | — | 49.52 |
| FY2021 | — | — | — | — | — | -65.38 |
| FY2022 | — | — | — | — | — | -5.73 |
| FY2023 | — | — | — | — | — | -13.77 |
| FY2024 | — | — | — | — | — | -15.55 |
| FY2025 | — | — | — | — | — | -62.61 |
| FY2026 | 51.89 | — | — | 51.89 | -3,192 | — |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.