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 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2017 | 525 | 110 | 1,228 | -594 | -283 | — |
| FY2018 | 762 | 126 | 1,482 | -594 | -230 | 14 |
| FY2019 | 581 | 114 | 1,109 | -414 | -145 | 7 |
| FY2020 | 490 | 167 | 1,705 | -1,049 | -117 | 9 |
| FY2021 | 394 | 196 | 1,578 | -988 | -131 | 5 |
| FY2022 | 536 | 118 | 1,067 | -413 | -66 | 8 |
| FY2023 | 635 | 261 | 1,242 | -345 | -103 | -4 |
| FY2024 | 709 | 215 | 1,286 | -361 | -488 | -8 |
| FY2025 | 403 | 41 | 492 | -48 | -145 | -1 |
| FY2026 | 486 | 41 | 574 | -47 | -142 | 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.