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 | 10 | 162 | 80 | 92 | -6 | 11 |
| FY2016 | 12 | 190 | 64 | 138 | 5 | 14 |
| FY2017 | 12 | 224 | 78 | 158 | 4 | 15 |
| FY2018 | 16 | 305 | 108 | 213 | -3 | 13 |
| FY2019 | 23 | 333 | 125 | 231 | -17 | 12 |
| FY2020 | 18 | 351 | 120 | 249 | -38 | 8 |
| FY2021 | 54 | 235 | 180 | 108 | -67 | 4 |
| FY2022 | 46 | 251 | 157 | 140 | 3 | 9 |
| FY2023 | 91 | 209 | 193 | 108 | 4 | 4 |
| FY2024 | 116 | 293 | 252 | 157 | 46 | 11 |
| FY2025 | 143 | 263 | 222 | 184 | 97 | 9 |
| FY2026 | 173 | 323 | 224 | 272 | 125 | 9 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.