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 | 45 | 169 | 13 | 201 | 330 | 4 |
| FY2016 | 41 | 222 | 21 | 242 | 288 | 4 |
| FY2017 | 41 | 171 | 4 | 207 | -230 | 4 |
| FY2018 | 49 | 220 | 8 | 261 | 308 | 3 |
| FY2019 | 38 | 193 | 7 | 225 | 16 | 4 |
| FY2020 | 48 | 206 | 4 | 249 | 262 | 3 |
| FY2021 | 47 | 293 | 6 | 334 | 252 | 4 |
| FY2022 | 33 | 156 | 5 | 184 | 188 | 4 |
| FY2023 | 32 | 182 | 4 | 211 | 195 | 3 |
| FY2024 | 39 | 243 | 8 | 275 | 241 | 4 |
| FY2025 | 39 | 208 | 3 | 244 | 216 | 4 |
| FY2026 | 33 | 252 | 16 | 269 | 233 | 12 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.