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 | 4 | 29 | 22 | 12 | -19 | 17 |
| FY2016 | 4 | 34 | 19 | 19 | -18 | 25 |
| FY2017 | 9 | 45 | 24 | 30 | -31 | 24 |
| FY2018 | 8 | 41 | 27 | 21 | -19 | 21 |
| FY2019 | 8 | 32 | 25 | 16 | -13 | 18 |
| FY2020 | 7 | 32 | 19 | 20 | -30 | 9 |
| FY2021 | 12 | 52 | 32 | 33 | -33 | 18 |
| FY2022 | 10 | 51 | 37 | 24 | -29 | 16 |
| FY2023 | 5 | 32 | 20 | 17 | -20 | 7 |
| FY2024 | 7 | 42 | 27 | 21 | -21 | 32 |
| FY2025 | 8 | 43 | 29 | 22 | -27 | 16 |
| FY2026 | 4 | 51 | 41 | 14 | -34 | 26 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.