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 | 38 | 193 | 155 | 76 | -39 | 22 |
| FY2016 | 26 | 194 | 110 | 110 | -48 | 25 |
| FY2017 | 36 | 187 | 107 | 117 | -30 | 24 |
| FY2018 | 29 | 182 | 109 | 101 | -12 | 19 |
| FY2019 | 32 | 199 | 106 | 125 | 10 | 21 |
| FY2020 | 30 | 198 | 102 | 126 | 26 | 19 |
| FY2021 | 33 | 245 | 121 | 158 | 61 | 15 |
| FY2022 | 27 | 294 | 107 | 214 | 87 | 19 |
| FY2023 | 18 | 177 | 53 | 142 | 50 | 36 |
| FY2024 | 19 | 185 | 55 | 149 | 50 | 21 |
| FY2025 | 24 | 217 | 57 | 183 | 58 | 24 |
| FY2026 | 21 | 199 | 94 | 126 | 43 | 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.