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 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2016 | 23 | 49 | 82 | -10 | 7 | — |
| FY2017 | 27 | 49 | 77 | 0 | 20 | 13 |
| FY2018 | 48 | 64 | 91 | 21 | 17 | 10 |
| FY2019 | 41 | 49 | 69 | 21 | 13 | 17 |
| FY2020 | 45 | 69 | 70 | 43 | 47 | 12 |
| FY2021 | 49 | 68 | 106 | 10 | 0 | 13 |
| FY2022 | 43 | 54 | 80 | 17 | 13 | 10 |
| FY2023 | 38 | 64 | 79 | 23 | 4 | 13 |
| FY2024 | 38 | 67 | 83 | 22 | -49 | 15 |
| FY2025 | 40 | 60 | 72 | 28 | -33 | 14 |
| FY2026 | 45 | 61 | 78 | 28 | -2 | 15 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.