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 | 37 | 411 | 128 | 320 | 74 | 47 |
| FY2016 | 39 | 462 | 198 | 304 | 96 | 21 |
| FY2017 | 44 | 399 | 270 | 174 | 56 | 15 |
| FY2018 | 38 | 386 | 192 | 233 | 75 | 21 |
| FY2019 | 38 | 483 | 188 | 334 | 95 | 20 |
| FY2020 | 46 | 485 | 203 | 329 | 126 | 24 |
| FY2021 | 37 | 486 | 242 | 281 | 130 | 27 |
| FY2022 | 42 | 517 | 156 | 403 | 175 | 16 |
| FY2023 | 46 | 464 | 150 | 360 | 123 | 17 |
| FY2024 | 36 | 467 | 155 | 347 | 80 | 22 |
| FY2025 | 28 | 613 | 286 | 354 | 99 | 20 |
| FY2026 | 29 | 608 | 241 | 396 | 275 | 19 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.