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 | 166 | 38 | 266 | -62 | 7 | 15 |
| FY2016 | 200 | 32 | 248 | -17 | 8 | 16 |
| FY2017 | 179 | 35 | 278 | -64 | 21 | 20 |
| FY2018 | 183 | 45 | 331 | -103 | 33 | 27 |
| FY2019 | 162 | 43 | 324 | -119 | 43 | 29 |
| FY2020 | 166 | 51 | 327 | -111 | 34 | 25 |
| FY2021 | 150 | 54 | 395 | -191 | 37 | 21 |
| FY2022 | 136 | 65 | 420 | -219 | 35 | 14 |
| FY2023 | 90 | 59 | 433 | -284 | 27 | 12 |
| FY2024 | 76 | 53 | 401 | -272 | 25 | 16 |
| FY2025 | 84 | 41 | 380 | -255 | 42 | 18 |
| FY2026 | 101 | 50 | 351 | -201 | 57 | 17 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.