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 | 25 | 88 | 106 | 7 | -47 | 15 |
| FY2016 | 30 | 111 | 105 | 37 | -16 | 12 |
| FY2017 | 36 | 104 | 107 | 34 | -21 | 13 |
| FY2018 | 51 | 154 | 143 | 62 | -26 | 9 |
| FY2019 | 56 | 134 | 132 | 58 | -9 | 13 |
| FY2020 | 70 | 162 | 168 | 64 | -24 | 9 |
| FY2021 | 65 | 149 | 136 | 78 | 28 | 5 |
| FY2022 | 61 | 152 | 130 | 83 | 16 | 9 |
| FY2023 | 71 | 173 | 133 | 112 | -24 | 10 |
| FY2024 | 76 | 167 | 101 | 142 | 30 | 10 |
| FY2025 | 75 | 194 | 128 | 140 | 34 | 9 |
| FY2026 | 72 | 185 | 115 | 142 | 42 | 10 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.