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 | 22 | 166 | 71 | 117 | 56 | — |
| FY2020 | 33 | 175 | 145 | 63 | 30 | — |
| FY2021 | 19 | 243 | 137 | 125 | 32 | 37 |
| FY2022 | 18 | 265 | 162 | 121 | 24 | 32 |
| FY2023 | 24 | 188 | 126 | 86 | 39 | 22 |
| FY2024 | 30 | 180 | 90 | 120 | 53 | 26 |
| FY2025 | 46 | 219 | 119 | 146 | -28 | 17 |
| FY2026 | 44 | 193 | 121 | 117 | -40 | 14 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.