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 | 129 | 346 | 174 | 301 | 112 | 7 |
| FY2016 | 143 | 360 | 122 | 381 | 154 | 7 |
| FY2017 | 127 | 344 | 123 | 349 | 135 | 5 |
| FY2018 | 144 | 336 | 49 | 431 | 199 | 4 |
| FY2019 | 107 | 323 | 81 | 349 | 152 | 4 |
| FY2020 | 68 | 309 | 82 | 296 | 123 | 4 |
| FY2021 | 59 | 328 | 58 | 329 | 120 | 5 |
| FY2022 | 48 | 302 | 39 | 311 | 137 | 5 |
| FY2023 | 57 | 247 | 42 | 262 | 115 | 5 |
| FY2024 | 56 | 339 | 38 | 357 | 145 | 6 |
| FY2025 | 43 | 274 | 28 | 288 | 124 | 10 |
| FY2026 | 59 | 280 | 37 | 302 | 116 | 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.