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 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2018 | 580 | 431 | 512 | 499 | 360 | — |
| FY2019 | 803 | 576 | 681 | 699 | 580 | 1.69 |
| FY2020 | 821 | 919 | 1,048 | 691 | 590 | 3.50 |
| FY2021 | 506 | 525 | 460 | 571 | 503 | 4.97 |
| FY2022 | 370 | 511 | 114 | 767 | 544 | 2.73 |
| FY2023 | 374 | 375 | 104 | 646 | 492 | 7.64 |
| FY2024 | 319 | 441 | 64.21 | 696 | 581 | 4.07 |
| FY2025 | 325 | 370 | 115 | 580 | 486 | 4.40 |
| FY2026 | 409 | 337 | 224 | 523 | 480 | 2.77 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.