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 | 87 | 350 | 68 | 368 | 140 | 33 |
| FY2016 | 85 | 293 | 56 | 322 | 158 | 36 |
| FY2017 | 81 | 307 | 104 | 284 | 147 | 29 |
| FY2018 | 95 | 314 | 96 | 313 | 176 | 22 |
| FY2019 | 86 | 347 | 96 | 336 | 169 | 29 |
| FY2020 | 96 | 316 | 100 | 312 | 180 | 25 |
| FY2021 | 88 | 329 | 117 | 300 | 152 | 32 |
| FY2022 | 99 | 341 | 96 | 344 | 177 | 35 |
| FY2023 | 84 | 352 | 89 | 347 | 188 | 19 |
| FY2024 | 100 | 364 | 94 | 370 | 206 | 16 |
| FY2025 | 106 | 311 | 88 | 330 | 192 | 20 |
| FY2026 | 103 | 346 | 106 | 343 | 195 | 22 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.