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 | 1,043 | — | — | 1,043 | 748 | -6 |
| FY2016 | 1,643 | 1,779 | 962 | 2,460 | 889 | -7 |
| FY2017 | 1,236 | 293 | 325 | 1,205 | 629 | -18 |
| FY2018 | 996 | 1,915 | 1,225 | 1,686 | 505 | -12 |
| FY2019 | 674 | 844 | 405 | 1,114 | 272 | -15 |
| FY2020 | 316 | 266 | 20 | 562 | 236 | -8 |
| FY2021 | 239 | 962 | 101 | 1,099 | 164 | 4 |
| FY2022 | 596 | 967 | 177 | 1,385 | 226 | -13 |
| FY2023 | 0 | 2,141 | 43 | 2,098 | 1,219 | -23 |
| FY2024 | 94 | 2,098 | 460 | 1,731 | 1,161 | -21 |
| FY2025 | 45 | 207 | 76 | 177 | 152 | 24 |
| FY2026 | 268 | 787 | 938 | 117 | 150 | 48 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.