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 | 71 | — | — | 71 | 43 | 25 |
| FY2016 | 72 | 189 | 599 | -337 | 41 | 22 |
| FY2017 | 66 | 124 | 522 | -331 | 27 | 22 |
| FY2018 | 64 | 156 | 453 | -233 | 36 | 23 |
| FY2019 | 64 | 160 | 323 | -99 | 47 | 24 |
| FY2020 | 60 | 211 | 347 | -76 | 35 | 17 |
| FY2021 | 71 | 110 | 314 | -133 | 24 | 15 |
| FY2022 | 59 | 178 | 336 | -99 | 23 | 20 |
| FY2023 | 68 | 228 | 374 | -78 | 17 | 20 |
| FY2024 | 64 | 177 | 189 | 52 | 43 | 22 |
| FY2025 | 70 | 185 | 126 | 128 | 64 | 17 |
| FY2026 | 66 | 303 | 249 | 119 | 68 | 12 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.