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 | 91 | 78 | 119 | 50 | 9 | 14 |
| FY2016 | 70 | 119 | 115 | 74 | 34 | 14 |
| FY2017 | 86 | 122 | 95 | 113 | 43 | 19 |
| FY2018 | 75 | 138 | 118 | 96 | 60 | 14 |
| FY2019 | 88 | 129 | 90 | 127 | 70 | 16 |
| FY2020 | 94 | 154 | 95 | 153 | 79 | 14 |
| FY2021 | 89 | 121 | 104 | 106 | 81 | 30 |
| FY2022 | 97 | 202 | 84 | 215 | 158 | 21 |
| FY2023 | 108 | 133 | 89 | 152 | 139 | 8 |
| FY2024 | 126 | 126 | 103 | 149 | 131 | 14 |
| FY2025 | 125 | 153 | 108 | 170 | 113 | 10 |
| FY2026 | 141 | 137 | 131 | 146 | 91 | 7 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.