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 | 114 | 152 | 245 | 21 | 59 | 11 |
| FY2016 | 149 | 113 | 277 | -15 | 57 | 11 |
| FY2017 | 166 | 116 | 289 | -7 | 67 | 14 |
| FY2018 | 166 | 97 | 267 | -5 | 68 | 16 |
| FY2019 | 142 | 91 | 265 | -32 | 76 | 21 |
| FY2020 | 133 | 84 | 239 | -22 | 84 | 20 |
| FY2021 | 141 | 82 | 287 | -63 | 67 | 18 |
| FY2022 | 113 | 62 | 241 | -66 | 54 | 13 |
| FY2023 | 117 | 64 | 257 | -75 | 47 | 14 |
| FY2024 | 108 | 60 | 260 | -92 | 46 | 16 |
| FY2025 | 128 | 61 | 280 | -92 | 43 | 16 |
| FY2026 | 113 | 69 | 276 | -94 | 38 | 18 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.