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 | 96 | 125 | 179 | 42 | -6 | 16 |
| FY2016 | 116 | 115 | 183 | 48 | -7 | 21 |
| FY2017 | 106 | 183 | 241 | 48 | 3 | 23 |
| FY2018 | 109 | 143 | 189 | 64 | 42 | 17 |
| FY2019 | 137 | 142 | 174 | 105 | 60 | 15 |
| FY2020 | 111 | 125 | 147 | 89 | 34 | 11 |
| FY2021 | 144 | 129 | 182 | 92 | 53 | 14 |
| FY2022 | 143 | 153 | 157 | 138 | 54 | 8 |
| FY2023 | 161 | 110 | 141 | 129 | 58 | 11 |
| FY2024 | 172 | 140 | 141 | 171 | 61 | 13 |
| FY2025 | 161 | 145 | 123 | 183 | 73 | 15 |
| FY2026 | 148 | 162 | 118 | 192 | 69 | 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.