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 | 45 | 60 | 130 | -25 | -37 | — |
| FY2018 | 45 | 73 | 115 | 4 | -6 | 21 |
| FY2019 | 48 | 80 | 79 | 49 | 42 | 43 |
| FY2020 | 48 | 113 | 68 | 93 | 80 | 18 |
| FY2021 | 59 | 151 | 118 | 92 | 32 | 19 |
| FY2022 | 56 | 79 | 131 | 3 | -5 | 15 |
| FY2023 | 49 | 78 | 121 | 6 | 2 | 7 |
| FY2024 | 51 | 81 | 119 | 13 | 5 | 8 |
| FY2025 | 63 | 58 | 84 | 37 | 16 | 14 |
| FY2026 | 60 | 82 | 60 | 83 | 34 | 15 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.