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 | 16 | 223 | 142 | 97 | 15 | 47 |
| FY2016 | 16 | 178 | 92 | 102 | 9 | 53 |
| FY2017 | 24 | 195 | 134 | 84 | 23 | 60 |
| FY2018 | 28 | 178 | 247 | -40 | -13 | 34 |
| FY2019 | 31 | 196 | 200 | 28 | -17 | 26 |
| FY2020 | 53 | 148 | 213 | -12 | 59 | 25 |
| FY2021 | 42 | 145 | 157 | 30 | 64 | 27 |
| FY2022 | 44 | 166 | 166 | 44 | 75 | 25 |
| FY2023 | 63 | 136 | 129 | 70 | 50 | 17 |
| FY2024 | 77 | 182 | 210 | 48 | -296 | 11 |
| FY2025 | 58 | 171 | 170 | 59 | -49 | 12 |
| FY2026 | 79 | 200 | 151 | 129 | -71 | 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.