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 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2013 | 11 | 46 | 80 | -24 | -50 | — |
| FY2014 | 16 | 48 | 87 | -23 | -42 | -8 |
| FY2015 | 16 | 46 | 92 | -30 | -43 | 1 |
| FY2016 | 29 | 48 | 136 | -60 | -50 | -1 |
| FY2017 | 20 | 36 | 132 | -76 | -69 | -8 |
| FY2020 | 16 | 57 | 126 | -53 | -52 | — |
| FY2021 | 19 | 102 | 221 | -100 | -62 | 11 |
| FY2022 | 17 | 67 | 126 | -43 | -22 | 33 |
| FY2023 | 14 | 73 | 125 | -38 | -25 | 3 |
| FY2024 | 16 | 67 | 120 | -38 | -81 | -4 |
| FY2025 | 14 | 65 | 142 | -63 | -73 | 10 |
| FY2026 | 18 | 65 | 141 | -58 | -42 | 18 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.