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 | 37 | 76 | 52 | 62 | 18 | 12 |
| FY2016 | 64 | 70 | 77 | 57 | 31 | 18 |
| FY2017 | 67 | 58 | 51 | 74 | 51 | 15 |
| FY2018 | 88 | 93 | 113 | 68 | 40 | 18 |
| FY2019 | 60 | 65 | 85 | 40 | 19 | 12 |
| FY2020 | 71 | 52 | 31 | 91 | 34 | 11 |
| FY2021 | 82 | 82 | 34 | 130 | 57 | 10 |
| FY2022 | 68 | 50 | 17 | 102 | 56 | 19 |
| FY2023 | 88 | 86 | 40 | 133 | 39 | 16 |
| FY2024 | 106 | 97 | 32 | 171 | 46 | 10 |
| FY2025 | 98 | 72 | 40 | 131 | 42 | 10 |
| FY2026 | 95 | 64 | 46 | 113 | 51 | 9 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.