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 | 52 | 169 | 99 | 122 | 12 | 6 |
| FY2016 | 60 | 207 | 106 | 162 | 4 | 13 |
| FY2017 | 63 | 223 | 137 | 149 | 50 | 15 |
| FY2018 | 55 | 177 | 145 | 87 | 45 | 15 |
| FY2019 | 51 | 147 | 106 | 92 | 45 | 16 |
| FY2020 | 79 | 463 | 273 | 268 | 62 | 15 |
| FY2021 | 49 | 268 | 124 | 194 | 74 | 12 |
| FY2022 | 55 | 308 | 139 | 224 | 56 | 10 |
| FY2023 | 56 | 268 | 160 | 165 | 57 | 3 |
| FY2024 | 50 | 220 | 146 | 124 | 56 | 7 |
| FY2025 | 45 | 178 | 158 | 65 | 16 | 10 |
| FY2026 | 47 | 170 | 170 | 47 | 13 | 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.