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 | 11 | 305 | 200 | 116 | 21 | 7 |
| FY2016 | 15 | 202 | 194 | 23 | -21 | 2 |
| FY2017 | 12 | 216 | 269 | -40 | -42 | 11 |
| FY2018 | 12 | 210 | 270 | -47 | -43 | 7 |
| FY2019 | 11 | 200 | 286 | -75 | -25 | 3 |
| FY2020 | 8 | 421 | 463 | -34 | -37 | 17 |
| FY2021 | 11 | 366 | 316 | 60 | -56 | 17 |
| FY2022 | 9 | 270 | 235 | 43 | -54 | 14 |
| FY2023 | 8 | 320 | 310 | 17 | -67 | 8 |
| FY2024 | 7 | 492 | 377 | 123 | -77 | 12 |
| FY2025 | 9 | 326 | 290 | 45 | -91 | 10 |
| FY2026 | 8 | 427 | 271 | 164 | -105 | 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.