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 | 105 | 258 | 133 | 230 | 204 | 2 |
| FY2016 | 95 | 169 | 94 | 170 | 152 | 1 |
| FY2017 | 89 | 79 | 55 | 113 | 102 | 5 |
| FY2018 | 96 | 62 | 128 | 30 | 131 | 6 |
| FY2019 | 70 | 67 | 213 | -75 | 77 | 8 |
| FY2020 | 77 | — | — | 77 | -45 | 53 |
| FY2021 | 59 | 100 | 524 | -366 | -107 | 15 |
| FY2022 | 52 | 91 | 108 | 35 | 17 | 21 |
| FY2023 | 70 | 119 | 249 | -60 | -27 | 8 |
| FY2024 | 61 | 73 | 118 | 17 | -64 | 13 |
| FY2025 | 97 | 145 | 144 | 98 | -33 | 18 |
| FY2026 | 68 | 131 | 135 | 63 | -46 | 14 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.