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 | 193 | 93 | 155 | 130 | 54 | 28 |
| FY2016 | 198 | 74 | 158 | 115 | 48 | 26 |
| FY2017 | 255 | 133 | 187 | 202 | 68 | 16 |
| FY2018 | 1,051 | 2,865 | 1,653 | 2,263 | 614 | -3 |
| FY2019 | 414 | 411 | 387 | 438 | 138 | 3 |
| FY2020 | 635 | 1,363 | 1,446 | 552 | -217 | -6 |
| FY2021 | 538 | 733 | 829 | 442 | -430 | -8 |
| FY2022 | 627 | 940 | 663 | 905 | -259 | -11 |
| FY2023 | 410 | 843 | 460 | 792 | -11 | -8 |
| FY2024 | 238 | 441 | 214 | 464 | 75 | 4 |
| FY2025 | 262 | 213 | 188 | 287 | 133 | 12 |
| FY2026 | 353 | 268 | 178 | 443 | 267 | 11 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.