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 | 6 | 31 | 55 | -17 | -22 | 66 |
| FY2016 | 7 | 32 | 56 | -16 | -5 | 68 |
| FY2017 | 7 | 43 | 49 | 1 | 28 | 52 |
| FY2018 | 11 | 39 | 59 | -9 | 17 | 47 |
| FY2019 | 13 | 43 | 63 | -7 | 27 | 44 |
| FY2020 | 10 | 39 | 55 | -6 | -1 | 37 |
| FY2021 | 7 | 52 | 63 | -4 | -22 | 45 |
| FY2022 | 9 | 57 | 55 | 10 | -31 | 41 |
| FY2023 | 7 | 45 | 55 | -2 | -31 | 49 |
| FY2024 | 9 | 45 | 63 | -9 | -30 | 49 |
| FY2025 | 9 | 43 | 60 | -9 | -23 | 53 |
| FY2026 | 9 | 44 | 62 | -9 | -28 | 56 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.