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 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2016 | 53 | 45 | 135 | -36 | -58 | — |
| FY2017 | 55 | 52 | 146 | -39 | -54 | 19 |
| FY2018 | 70 | 57 | 180 | -53 | -57 | 24 |
| FY2019 | 44 | 61 | 114 | -9 | -49 | 22 |
| FY2020 | 39 | 75 | 131 | -17 | -78 | 17 |
| FY2021 | 55 | 94 | 159 | -9 | -75 | 8 |
| FY2022 | 48 | 91 | 163 | -24 | -60 | 11 |
| FY2023 | 48 | 96 | 141 | 3 | -38 | 19 |
| FY2024 | 48 | 129 | 154 | 22 | -49 | 17 |
| FY2025 | 50 | 92 | 147 | -6 | -44 | 16 |
| FY2026 | 55 | 90 | 145 | 0 | -45 | 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.