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 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2016 | 5 | 45 | 127 | -77 | -31 | — |
| FY2017 | 6 | 39 | 129 | -85 | -70 | -19 |
| FY2018 | 6 | 48 | 139 | -84 | -65 | 15 |
| FY2019 | 6 | 52 | 128 | -70 | -95 | 7 |
| FY2020 | 4 | 57 | 129 | -68 | -108 | 6 |
| FY2021 | 5 | 66 | 171 | -100 | -95 | 2 |
| FY2022 | 4 | 52 | 119 | -64 | -26 | 16 |
| FY2023 | 4 | 52 | 98 | -42 | -37 | 18 |
| FY2024 | 5 | 45 | 130 | -79 | -65 | 6 |
| FY2025 | 3 | 35 | 105 | -66 | -60 | 6 |
| FY2026 | 4 | 34 | 127 | -89 | -85 | 5 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.