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 | 46 | 161 | 235 | -28 | -30 | 7 |
| FY2016 | 48 | 349 | 508 | -111 | -73 | 1 |
| FY2017 | 34 | 154 | 519 | -331 | -140 | 4 |
| FY2018 | 37 | 145 | 315 | -133 | -121 | 5 |
| FY2019 | 32 | 287 | 395 | -76 | -125 | 6 |
| FY2020 | 30 | 183 | 281 | -68 | -70 | 6 |
| FY2021 | 38 | 209 | 195 | 53 | -48 | 6 |
| FY2022 | 26 | 157 | 91 | 92 | 0 | 8 |
| FY2023 | 27 | 434 | 231 | 230 | 1 | 10 |
| FY2024 | 27 | 201 | 114 | 114 | 18 | 12 |
| FY2025 | 33 | 190 | 98 | 126 | 24 | 9 |
| FY2026 | 42 | 146 | 110 | 78 | 16 | 4 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.