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 | 6 | 208 | 31 | 184 | -11 | — |
| FY2019 | 5 | 200 | 19 | 187 | -12 | 7 |
| FY2020 | 8 | 205 | 24 | 189 | -5 | 11 |
| FY2021 | 5 | 272 | 35 | 241 | 10 | 7 |
| FY2022 | 4 | 232 | 26 | 210 | 30 | 10 |
| FY2023 | 6 | 216 | 37 | 185 | 30 | 13 |
| FY2024 | 6 | 191 | 45 | 153 | 25 | 14 |
| FY2025 | 6 | 162 | 39 | 129 | 23 | 15 |
| FY2026 | 9 | 167 | 40 | 136 | 30 | 21 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.