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 | 156 | 160 | 100 | 216 | 125 | 8 |
| FY2016 | 130 | 148 | 102 | 176 | 126 | 11 |
| FY2017 | 113 | 204 | 105 | 212 | 166 | 10 |
| FY2018 | 129 | 208 | 108 | 229 | 195 | 9 |
| FY2019 | 71 | 118 | 53 | 136 | 114 | 17 |
| FY2020 | 100 | 125 | 96 | 129 | 132 | 15 |
| FY2021 | 116 | 144 | 125 | 135 | 115 | 18 |
| FY2022 | 95 | 133 | 51 | 177 | 137 | 29 |
| FY2023 | 101 | 257 | 93 | 264 | 200 | 21 |
| FY2024 | 86 | 199 | 57 | 228 | 167 | 20 |
| FY2025 | 70 | 277 | 53 | 294 | 194 | 25 |
| FY2026 | 65 | 328 | 60 | 333 | 273 | 24 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.