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 | 22 | 257 | 129 | 150 | 17 | 16 |
| FY2016 | 21 | 244 | 103 | 162 | 34 | 12 |
| FY2017 | 21 | 246 | 93 | 174 | 43 | 8 |
| FY2018 | 24 | 243 | 104 | 163 | 41 | 14 |
| FY2019 | 18 | 243 | 86 | 175 | 60 | 17 |
| FY2020 | 16 | 244 | 84 | 176 | 42 | 8 |
| FY2021 | 27 | 254 | 98 | 183 | 49 | 8 |
| FY2022 | 20 | 216 | 82 | 155 | 55 | 16 |
| FY2023 | 20 | 221 | 74 | 167 | 73 | 18 |
| FY2024 | 19 | 225 | 57 | 187 | 83 | 19 |
| FY2025 | 20 | 246 | 43 | 223 | 114 | 14 |
| FY2026 | 20 | 227 | 55 | 192 | 102 | 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.