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 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014Dec | 82 | 193 | 147 | 127 | 45 | 17 |
| 2015Dec | 80 | 171 | 145 | 106 | 40 | 17 |
| 2016Dec | 72 | 200 | 142 | 130 | 57 | 17 |
| 2017Dec | 98 | 193 | 139 | 153 | 83 | 16 |
| 2018Dec | 97 | 196 | 141 | 152 | 71 | 15 |
| 2019Dec | 84 | 170 | 127 | 127 | 37 | 16 |
| 2020Dec | 81 | 212 | 155 | 138 | 26 | 18 |
| 2021Dec | 68 | 195 | 129 | 134 | 54 | 21 |
| 2022Dec | 81 | 207 | 116 | 172 | 76 | 23 |
| 2023Dec | 80 | 184 | 98 | 165 | 77 | 23 |
| 2024Dec | 94 | 165 | 95 | 163 | 83 | 24 |
| 2025Dec | 118 | 197 | 111 | 204 | 104 | 25 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.