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 | 11 | 91 | 74 | 27 | -48 | 42 |
| FY2016 | 16 | 156 | 97 | 75 | 26 | 29 |
| FY2017 | 21 | 111 | 73 | 60 | 7 | 22 |
| FY2018 | 19 | 147 | 149 | 17 | -90 | 26 |
| FY2019 | 14 | 131 | 109 | 36 | -72 | 31 |
| FY2020 | 11 | 135 | 100 | 46 | -38 | 33 |
| FY2021 | 27 | 159 | 135 | 50 | -39 | 38 |
| FY2022 | 23 | 144 | 156 | 11 | -94 | 37 |
| FY2023 | 22 | 131 | 122 | 31 | -57 | 36 |
| FY2024 | 23 | 144 | 171 | -4 | -64 | 51 |
| FY2025 | 28 | 126 | 186 | -31 | -99 | 63 |
| FY2026 | 26 | 124 | 154 | -4 | -91 | 61 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.