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 | 39 | 110 | 92 | 57 | 6 | 19 |
| FY2016 | 101 | 128 | 91 | 138 | 9 | 20 |
| FY2017 | 108 | 145 | 116 | 137 | -2 | 18 |
| FY2018 | 136 | 114 | 112 | 138 | 42 | 12 |
| FY2019 | 108 | 112 | 94 | 126 | 48 | 15 |
| FY2020 | 93 | 125 | 102 | 116 | 63 | 17 |
| FY2021 | 86 | 205 | 142 | 150 | 62 | 25 |
| FY2022 | 90 | 190 | 124 | 156 | 44 | 17 |
| FY2023 | 77 | 182 | 124 | 135 | 36 | 19 |
| FY2024 | 80 | 235 | 135 | 179 | 35 | 15 |
| FY2025 | 77 | 284 | 154 | 207 | 42 | 15 |
| FY2026 | 62 | 326 | 131 | 256 | 49 | 16 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.