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 | 34 | 107 | 17 | 124 | 35 | -1 |
| FY2016 | 53 | 101 | 12 | 141 | 39 | 0 |
| FY2017 | 28 | 134 | 18 | 144 | 33 | 1 |
| FY2018 | 28 | 165 | 24 | 169 | 39 | 5 |
| FY2019 | 38 | 132 | 108 | 63 | 36 | 7 |
| FY2020 | 30 | 163 | 102 | 91 | 42 | 10 |
| FY2021 | 55 | 226 | 132 | 149 | 45 | 4 |
| FY2022 | 35 | 183 | 102 | 115 | 34 | 10 |
| FY2023 | 34 | 151 | 88 | 97 | 39 | 10 |
| FY2024 | 40 | 195 | 114 | 121 | 33 | 10 |
| FY2025 | 38 | 208 | 109 | 137 | 20 | 11 |
| FY2026 | 55 | 189 | 120 | 124 | 33 | 10 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.