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 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2016 | 135 | 211 | 128 | 218 | 181 | — |
| FY2017 | 104 | 139 | 56 | 187 | 151 | 10 |
| FY2018 | 157 | 199 | 124 | 232 | 189 | 7 |
| FY2019 | 120 | 147 | 73 | 194 | 158 | 10 |
| FY2020 | 104 | 349 | 113 | 340 | 245 | 3 |
| FY2021 | 178 | 204 | 106 | 276 | 239 | 5 |
| FY2022 | 169 | 705 | 168 | 706 | 427 | 3 |
| FY2023 | 112 | 320 | 74 | 357 | 230 | 8 |
| FY2024 | 150 | 270 | 86 | 335 | 207 | 13 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.