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 | 119 | 176 | 42 | 252 | 68 | 5 |
| FY2016 | 106 | 246 | 60 | 292 | 72 | 7 |
| FY2017 | 100 | 295 | 56 | 339 | 154 | 3 |
| FY2018 | 73 | 307 | 54 | 325 | 149 | -10 |
| FY2019 | 45 | 164 | 59 | 150 | 67 | 9 |
| FY2020 | 49 | 191 | 76 | 164 | 55 | 9 |
| FY2021 | 25 | 134 | 82 | 77 | 32 | 18 |
| FY2022 | 26 | 122 | 76 | 72 | 59 | 20 |
| FY2023 | 32 | 82 | 66 | 48 | 34 | 25 |
| FY2024 | 19 | 68 | 35 | 53 | 52 | 17 |
| FY2025 | 18 | 58 | 37 | 39 | 9 | 23 |
| FY2026 | 22 | 51 | 40 | 33 | 11 | 23 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.