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 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2017 | 53 | 20 | 184 | -111 | -12 | — |
| FY2018 | 59 | 24 | 227 | -144 | -24 | 4 |
| FY2019 | 78 | 26 | 292 | -188 | -152 | 6 |
| FY2020 | 33 | 43 | 286 | -210 | -137 | 4 |
| FY2021 | 53 | 34 | 274 | -187 | -44 | 7 |
| FY2022 | 36 | 24 | 174 | -114 | -24 | 12 |
| FY2023 | 27 | 30 | 212 | -155 | -46 | 15 |
| FY2024 | 31 | 26 | 207 | -149 | -43 | 16 |
| FY2025 | 36 | 26 | 198 | -136 | -46 | 15 |
| FY2026 | 42 | 23 | 175 | -110 | -41 | 15 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.