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 | 49 | 80 | 278 | -149 | -49 | 6 |
| FY2016 | 44 | 77 | 247 | -125 | -39 | 9 |
| FY2017 | 43 | 81 | 282 | -157 | -14 | 7 |
| FY2018 | 51 | 83 | 312 | -178 | -50 | 9 |
| FY2019 | 50 | 89 | 343 | -204 | -55 | 10 |
| FY2020 | 47 | 112 | 380 | -222 | -55 | 6 |
| FY2021 | 58 | 256 | 893 | -579 | -160 | -11 |
| FY2022 | 43 | 134 | 453 | -277 | -99 | -3 |
| FY2023 | 41 | 121 | 577 | -416 | -29 | 16 |
| FY2024 | 29 | 99 | 422 | -294 | -31 | 24 |
| FY2025 | 32 | 88 | 410 | -290 | -23 | 23 |
| FY2026 | 32 | 84 | 411 | -295 | -17 | 21 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.