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 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2016 | 176 | 76 | 71 | 181 | 74 | — |
| FY2017 | 188 | 103 | 84 | 207 | 71 | 12 |
| FY2018 | 222 | 124 | 159 | 188 | 98 | 14 |
| FY2019 | 198 | 105 | 120 | 184 | 98 | 10 |
| FY2020 | 217 | 83 | 110 | 190 | 117 | 14 |
| FY2021 | 339 | 185 | 173 | 351 | 222 | 11 |
| FY2022 | 297 | 185 | 161 | 320 | 178 | 8 |
| FY2023 | 213 | 201 | 115 | 299 | 129 | 6 |
| FY2024 | 176 | 246 | 178 | 244 | 108 | 11 |
| FY2025 | 204 | 223 | 152 | 275 | 114 | 19 |
| FY2026 | 115 | 170 | 97 | 188 | 110 | 25 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.