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 | 38 | 98 | 50 | 85 | 32 | 12 |
| FY2016 | 46 | 92 | 32 | 106 | 35 | 14 |
| FY2017 | 46 | 95 | 44 | 98 | 29 | 14 |
| FY2018 | 51 | 143 | 52 | 142 | 51 | 14 |
| FY2019 | 44 | 136 | 77 | 102 | 48 | 20 |
| FY2020 | 28 | 164 | 74 | 118 | 50 | 18 |
| FY2021 | 56 | 120 | 76 | 99 | 37 | 22 |
| FY2022 | 71 | 140 | 69 | 142 | 76 | 20 |
| FY2023 | 52 | 147 | 71 | 128 | 26 | 21 |
| FY2024 | 58 | 181 | 67 | 172 | 56 | 17 |
| FY2025 | 63 | 212 | 85 | 190 | 58 | 14 |
| FY2026 | 58 | 148 | 47 | 159 | 65 | 11 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.