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 | 146 | 179 | 280 | 45 | -186 | — |
| FY2017 | 129 | 116 | 110 | 135 | -70 | -3 |
| FY2018 | 140 | 120 | 133 | 127 | -75 | -5 |
| FY2019 | 130 | 164 | 204 | 90 | 125 | 4 |
| FY2020 | 104 | 72 | 181 | -5 | 63 | 5 |
| FY2021 | 105 | 67 | 140 | 33 | 62 | 4 |
| FY2022 | 102 | 56 | 105 | 53 | 46 | 6 |
| FY2023 | 136 | 80 | 151 | 65 | 59 | 9 |
| FY2024 | 100 | 65 | 128 | 37 | 48 | 13 |
| FY2025 | 135 | 16 | 230 | -79 | 37 | 12 |
| FY2026 | 165 | 22 | 289 | -101 | 47 | 15 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.