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 | 35 | 150 | 67 | 119 | -59 | 17 |
| FY2016 | 50 | 188 | 45 | 194 | -64 | 11 |
| FY2017 | 50 | 181 | 104 | 127 | -77 | 13 |
| FY2018 | 70 | 200 | 131 | 139 | -74 | 11 |
| FY2019 | 69 | 193 | 62 | 200 | 34 | 7 |
| FY2020 | 76 | 205 | 115 | 166 | 31 | 8 |
| FY2021 | 81 | 199 | 94 | 186 | 21 | 7 |
| FY2022 | 55 | 186 | 115 | 125 | 16 | 12 |
| FY2023 | 55 | 173 | 65 | 163 | 33 | 17 |
| FY2024 | 63 | 197 | 48 | 212 | 49 | 15 |
| FY2025 | 79 | 272 | 143 | 207 | 94 | 12 |
| FY2026 | 61 | 442 | 168 | 334 | 108 | 9 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.