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 | 84 | 107 | 88 | 103 | 17 | 44 |
| FY2016 | 89 | 120 | 85 | 124 | 59 | 23 |
| FY2017 | 118 | 151 | 129 | 140 | 77 | 4 |
| FY2018 | 71 | 152 | 54 | 169 | 70 | 10 |
| FY2019 | 64 | 215 | 78 | 202 | 97 | 18 |
| FY2020 | 78 | 155 | 71 | 163 | 87 | 25 |
| FY2021 | 72 | 248 | 103 | 217 | 104 | 38 |
| FY2022 | 97 | 216 | 102 | 211 | 121 | 23 |
| FY2023 | 82 | 192 | 91 | 183 | 122 | 22 |
| FY2024 | 76 | 217 | 94 | 199 | 129 | 21 |
| FY2025 | 75 | 270 | 98 | 247 | 142 | 20 |
| FY2026 | 80 | 278 | 96 | 261 | 149 | 19 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.