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 | 121 | 1,094 | 676 | 539 | 75 | 18 |
| FY2016 | 130 | 1,682 | 992 | 821 | 89 | 15 |
| FY2017 | 82 | 190 | 1,004 | -733 | 45 | 31 |
| FY2018 | 114 | 118 | 1,079 | -847 | 77 | 20 |
| FY2019 | 133 | 237 | 1,660 | -1,290 | 63 | 21 |
| FY2020 | 141 | 195 | 1,361 | -1,026 | 68 | 16 |
| FY2021 | 163 | — | — | 163 | 106 | 11 |
| FY2022 | 169 | — | — | 169 | 89 | 12 |
| FY2023 | 176 | — | — | 176 | 103 | 12 |
| FY2024 | 174 | 607 | 2,012 | -1,231 | 137 | 13 |
| FY2025 | 159 | 615 | 1,548 | -774 | 137 | 12 |
| FY2026 | 136 | 563 | 1,042 | -344 | 111 | 10 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.