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 | 14 | 117 | 89 | 42 | -18 | 11 |
| FY2016 | 19 | 105 | 88 | 36 | -3 | 18 |
| FY2017 | 23 | 124 | 96 | 50 | 2 | 28 |
| FY2018 | 30 | 121 | 124 | 27 | 9 | 18 |
| FY2019 | 33 | 95 | 98 | 30 | 33 | 19 |
| FY2020 | 15 | 104 | 89 | 30 | 87 | 15 |
| FY2021 | 10 | 131 | 95 | 46 | -38 | 25 |
| FY2022 | 11 | 122 | 81 | 51 | -24 | 14 |
| FY2023 | 28 | 115 | 74 | 69 | 7 | 13 |
| FY2024 | 32 | 122 | 82 | 72 | 14 | 16 |
| FY2025 | 28 | 143 | 102 | 68 | 18 | 17 |
| FY2026 | 29 | 134 | 94 | 69 | 33 | 17 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.