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 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2016 | 54 | 98 | 70 | 81 | 33 | — |
| FY2017 | 82 | 163 | 118 | 127 | 37 | 11 |
| FY2018 | 62 | 146 | 94 | 114 | 30 | 8 |
| FY2019 | 68 | 157 | 27 | 198 | 49 | 8 |
| FY2020 | 95 | 159 | 43 | 212 | 55 | 4 |
| FY2021 | 99 | 234 | 70 | 263 | 84 | 2 |
| FY2022 | 104 | 197 | 62 | 239 | 84 | 1 |
| FY2023 | 88 | 200 | 48 | 241 | 73 | 2 |
| FY2024 | 95 | 212 | 44 | 262 | 78 | 3 |
| FY2025 | 78 | 177 | 42 | 214 | 64 | 3 |
| FY2026 | 74 | 123 | 37 | 160 | 68 | 3 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.