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 | 42 | 139 | 142 | 40 | 3 | 16 |
| FY2016 | 53 | 166 | 183 | 36 | 13 | 16 |
| FY2017 | 55 | 177 | 173 | 59 | 31 | 20 |
| FY2018 | 60 | 178 | 160 | 79 | 51 | 21 |
| FY2019 | 65 | 195 | 161 | 100 | 65 | 19 |
| FY2020 | 66 | 208 | 211 | 63 | 61 | 6 |
| FY2021 | 87 | 185 | 287 | -15 | 48 | 6 |
| FY2022 | 72 | 140 | 230 | -18 | 45 | 10 |
| FY2023 | 61 | 110 | 192 | -21 | 25 | 15 |
| FY2024 | 61 | 112 | 169 | 4 | 32 | 17 |
| FY2025 | 68 | 103 | 170 | 1 | 32 | 20 |
| FY2026 | 50 | 112 | 194 | -32 | 13 | 19 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.