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 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2020 | 25 | 180 | 108 | 97 | 17 | — |
| FY2021 | 82 | 256 | 139 | 200 | 6 | 15 |
| FY2022 | 49 | 166 | 91 | 124 | -24 | 9 |
| FY2023 | 32 | 129 | 77 | 84 | -28 | 30 |
| FY2024 | 38 | 133 | 69 | 102 | -15 | 27 |
| FY2025 | 40 | 152 | 67 | 125 | 4 | 21 |
| FY2026 | 40 | 184 | 71 | 152 | 10 | 18 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.