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 | 74 | 184 | 144 | 114 | 12 | 28 |
| FY2016 | 56 | 311 | 171 | 196 | 1 | 24 |
| FY2017 | 99 | 277 | 110 | 266 | -6 | 5 |
| FY2018 | 104 | 207 | 154 | 157 | 19 | 0 |
| FY2019 | 86 | 219 | 127 | 178 | 43 | 7 |
| FY2020 | 88 | 204 | 119 | 173 | 22 | 11 |
| FY2021 | 83 | 200 | 99 | 184 | 55 | 13 |
| FY2022 | 77 | 178 | 112 | 143 | 40 | 10 |
| FY2023 | 66 | 255 | 129 | 192 | 42 | 10 |
| FY2024 | 72 | 256 | 154 | 174 | 51 | 8 |
| FY2025 | 74 | 234 | 180 | 127 | 33 | 12 |
| FY2026 | 79 | 199 | 200 | 78 | 23 | 5 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.