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 | 244 | — | — | 244 | 449 | 8 |
| FY2016 | 345 | — | — | 345 | 481 | 3 |
| FY2017 | 433 | — | — | 433 | 291 | 1 |
| FY2018 | 466 | — | — | 466 | 35 | -2 |
| FY2019 | 444 | — | — | 444 | 21 | -2 |
| FY2020 | 122 | 386 | 1,295 | -787 | 889 | -2 |
| FY2021 | 130 | 712 | 2,300 | -1,458 | 1,085 | -2 |
| FY2022 | 281 | — | — | 281 | 1,795 | -3 |
| FY2023 | 50 | — | — | 50 | 925 | -1 |
| FY2024 | 35 | — | — | 35 | 553 | -1 |
| FY2025 | 36 | — | — | 36 | 1,386 | -1 |
| FY2026 | 45 | 856 | 1,014 | -112 | 675 | 7 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.