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 | 37 | 334 | 202 | 170 | -1,124 | 10 |
| FY2016 | 34 | 236 | 190 | 79 | -388 | 24 |
| FY2017 | 79 | 383 | 290 | 172 | -705 | 3 |
| FY2018 | 55 | 727 | 968 | -186 | -468 | 12 |
| FY2019 | 58 | 168 | 177 | 48 | -392 | 18 |
| FY2020 | 136 | 1,590 | 1,922 | -196 | -533 | 22 |
| FY2021 | 57 | 606 | 592 | 71 | -1,012 | 21 |
| FY2022 | 31 | 458 | 159 | 330 | -660 | 20 |
| FY2023 | 7 | 662 | 266 | 404 | -546 | 20 |
| FY2024 | 20 | 648 | 161 | 507 | -276 | 27 |
| FY2025 | 19 | 368 | 119 | 267 | -169 | 37 |
| FY2026 | 64 | 307 | 164 | 206 | -80 | 43 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.