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 | 66 | 181 | 146 | 102 | 46 | 21 |
| FY2016 | 69 | 174 | 137 | 105 | 48 | 17 |
| FY2017 | 74 | 189 | 166 | 97 | 41 | 12 |
| FY2018 | 73 | 203 | 157 | 119 | 38 | 7 |
| FY2019 | 74 | 209 | 195 | 88 | 21 | 1 |
| FY2020 | 69 | 230 | 183 | 116 | 22 | 6 |
| FY2021 | 69 | 245 | 117 | 197 | 59 | 16 |
| FY2022 | 70 | 248 | 107 | 212 | 78 | 23 |
| FY2023 | 77 | 228 | 86 | 219 | 82 | 17 |
| FY2024 | 82 | 230 | 100 | 212 | 62 | 10 |
| FY2025 | 77 | 307 | 152 | 232 | 39 | 0 |
| FY2026 | 97 | 273 | 208 | 162 | 21 | 1 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.