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 | 27 | 103 | 79 | 51 | -6 | 27 |
| FY2016 | 11 | 70 | 42 | 39 | -3 | 28 |
| FY2017 | 14 | 99 | 66 | 46 | -8 | 25 |
| FY2018 | 15 | 124 | 125 | 14 | -17 | 27 |
| FY2019 | 15 | 115 | 94 | 36 | 0 | 29 |
| FY2020 | 9 | 121 | 92 | 39 | 1 | 22 |
| FY2021 | 20 | 153 | 93 | 79 | 20 | 30 |
| FY2022 | 20 | 119 | 95 | 44 | 7 | 27 |
| FY2023 | 21 | 119 | 85 | 55 | 25 | 22 |
| FY2024 | 23 | 102 | 81 | 44 | 11 | 24 |
| FY2025 | 21 | 104 | 78 | 47 | 12 | 25 |
| FY2026 | 13 | 110 | 72 | 51 | 14 | 25 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.