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 | 45 | 35 | 45 | 34 | -116 | 4 |
| FY2016 | 37 | 36 | 29 | 44 | -69 | 7 |
| FY2017 | 54 | — | — | 54 | -92 | 7 |
| FY2018 | 42 | 38 | 52 | 28 | -117 | 7 |
| FY2019 | 54 | 41 | 52 | 43 | -229 | 4 |
| FY2020 | 37 | 38 | 186 | -110 | 195 | -8 |
| FY2021 | 23 | 35 | 332 | -275 | 727 | -5 |
| FY2022 | 20 | 39 | 218 | -159 | 1,055 | -2 |
| FY2023 | 21 | 30 | 89 | -38 | 532 | -6 |
| FY2024 | 19 | 28 | 55 | -9 | 587 | 1 |
| FY2025 | 19 | 26 | 45 | 1 | 578 | 1 |
| FY2026 | 18 | 24 | 31 | 11 | 743 | 1 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.