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 | 24 | 290 | 115 | 200 | 36 | 11 |
| FY2016 | 62 | 97 | 20 | 139 | 49 | 7 |
| FY2017 | 66 | 224 | 94 | 195 | 57 | 8 |
| FY2018 | 52 | 127 | 43 | 136 | 22 | 9 |
| FY2019 | 53 | 157 | 85 | 126 | 52 | 16 |
| FY2020 | 41 | 135 | 22 | 154 | 87 | 17 |
| FY2021 | 54 | 145 | 41 | 158 | 95 | 20 |
| FY2022 | 60 | 103 | 39 | 124 | 95 | 20 |
| FY2023 | 84 | 194 | 16 | 263 | 64 | 11 |
| FY2024 | 104 | 84 | 35 | 154 | 44 | 15 |
| FY2025 | 102 | 60 | 67 | 95 | 42 | 22 |
| FY2026 | 108 | 65 | 47 | 126 | 40 | 27 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.