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 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2017 | 57 | 217 | 285 | -11 | 22 | — |
| FY2018 | 50 | — | — | 50 | 20 | 11 |
| FY2019 | 42 | 168 | 172 | 38 | 10 | 18 |
| FY2020 | 48 | 203 | 175 | 75 | 43 | 12 |
| FY2021 | 56 | 222 | 193 | 85 | -14 | 14 |
| FY2022 | 49 | 221 | 163 | 107 | 1 | 18 |
| FY2023 | 61 | 187 | 155 | 94 | 23 | 21 |
| FY2024 | 47 | 160 | 123 | 84 | 14 | 20 |
| FY2025 | 59 | 157 | 157 | 59 | 2 | 12 |
| FY2026 | 50 | 145 | 121 | 74 | 1 | 14 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.