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 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2016 | 85 | 77 | 14 | 148 | 44 | — |
| FY2017 | 46 | 147 | 18 | 174 | 43 | 9 |
| FY2018 | 74 | 103 | 39 | 138 | 13 | 11 |
| FY2019 | 92 | 64 | 23 | 132 | 8 | 9 |
| FY2020 | 125 | 33 | 20 | 139 | 24 | 16 |
| FY2021 | 120 | 67 | 28 | 159 | 45 | 23 |
| FY2022 | 130 | 80 | 32 | 177 | 52 | 29 |
| FY2023 | 107 | 101 | 24 | 183 | 59 | 17 |
| FY2024 | 134 | 71 | 10 | 195 | 78 | 14 |
| FY2025 | 130 | 102 | 9 | 223 | 89 | 14 |
| FY2026 | 119 | 104 | 11 | 212 | 99 | 14 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.