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 | 39 | 283 | 24 | 299 | 89 | 19 |
| FY2016 | 17 | 248 | 20 | 245 | 91 | 17 |
| FY2017 | 27 | 331 | 42 | 316 | 120 | 21 |
| FY2018 | 28 | 415 | 19 | 424 | 155 | 22 |
| FY2019 | 35 | 395 | 28 | 402 | 163 | 21 |
| FY2020 | 19 | 323 | 43 | 298 | 167 | 21 |
| FY2021 | 18 | 392 | 29 | 382 | 228 | 20 |
| FY2022 | 25 | 336 | 22 | 339 | 234 | 15 |
| FY2023 | 19 | 404 | 12 | 412 | 260 | 21 |
| FY2024 | 21 | 425 | 12 | 433 | 264 | 16 |
| FY2025 | 31 | 358 | 14 | 375 | 234 | 12 |
| FY2026 | 28 | 329 | 12 | 344 | 215 | 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.