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 | 92 | 96 | 118 | 70 | 34 | 2 |
| FY2016 | 98 | 117 | 128 | 87 | 29 | 5 |
| FY2017 | 99 | 156 | 146 | 109 | 18 | 6 |
| FY2018 | 99 | 139 | 143 | 94 | 36 | 9 |
| FY2019 | 96 | 123 | 122 | 97 | 42 | 10 |
| FY2020 | 103 | 143 | 123 | 123 | 53 | -2 |
| FY2021 | 135 | 178 | 141 | 172 | 85 | 1 |
| FY2022 | 108 | 135 | 95 | 148 | 74 | 6 |
| FY2023 | 103 | 114 | 107 | 110 | 44 | 4 |
| FY2024 | 95 | 180 | 146 | 129 | 53 | 9 |
| FY2025 | 125 | 186 | 166 | 145 | 38 | 12 |
| FY2026 | 160 | 129 | 104 | 185 | 52 | 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.