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 | 24 | 52 | 81 | -5 | -56 | — |
| FY2016 | 19 | 37 | 64 | -8 | -46 | 5 |
| FY2017 | 17 | 53 | 81 | -11 | -51 | 5 |
| FY2018 | 21 | 43 | 68 | -5 | -43 | 6 |
| FY2019 | 18 | 47 | 58 | 8 | -9 | 10 |
| FY2020 | 11 | 54 | 55 | 9 | -9 | 14 |
| FY2021 | 26 | 57 | 66 | 17 | 3 | 32 |
| FY2023 | 36 | 46 | 60 | 22 | 2 | — |
| FY2024 | 42 | 47 | 79 | 10 | -8 | 9 |
| FY2025 | 46 | 54 | 111 | -10 | -18 | 6 |
| FY2026 | 43 | 78 | 120 | 1 | -9 | 11 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.