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 | 91 | 51 | 30 | 112 | 5 | 7 |
| FY2016 | 131 | 66 | 51 | 146 | 4 | 8 |
| FY2017 | 115 | 63 | 54 | 124 | -50 | 9 |
| FY2018 | 120 | 62 | 73 | 108 | -72 | 8 |
| FY2019 | 76 | 57 | 102 | 30 | -32 | 6 |
| FY2020 | 99 | 75 | 143 | 32 | -28 | 5 |
| FY2021 | 58 | 61 | 124 | -5 | -17 | 14 |
| FY2022 | 30 | 76 | 103 | 3 | -18 | 19 |
| FY2023 | 55 | 60 | 85 | 30 | 15 | 25 |
| FY2024 | 62 | 74 | 80 | 56 | 20 | 11 |
| FY2025 | 57 | 58 | 94 | 22 | 2 | 16 |
| FY2026 | 74 | 79 | 98 | 55 | 30 | 11 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.