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 | 26 | 189 | 258 | -43 | -89 | — |
| FY2018 | 24 | 186 | 223 | -13 | -63 | 6 |
| FY2019 | 21 | 211 | 179 | 53 | -60 | 4 |
| FY2020 | 25 | 204 | 173 | 55 | -85 | 4 |
| FY2021 | 18 | 180 | 213 | -14 | -83 | 10 |
| FY2022 | 22 | 234 | 211 | 45 | -60 | 7 |
| FY2023 | 19 | 242 | 209 | 52 | -33 | 8 |
| FY2024 | 21 | 164 | 178 | 8 | -27 | 7 |
| FY2025 | 23 | 217 | 241 | -1 | -39 | 6 |
| FY2026 | 21 | 186 | 202 | 5 | -55 | 8 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.