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 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2018 | 79 | 38 | 30 | 87 | 39 | — |
| FY2019 | 65 | 65 | 14 | 116 | 54 | 14 |
| FY2020 | 60 | 94 | 30 | 124 | 65 | 11 |
| FY2021 | 62 | 127 | 36 | 153 | 63 | 11 |
| FY2022 | 109 | 110 | 43 | 175 | 95 | 10 |
| FY2023 | 67 | 65 | 16 | 116 | 96 | 12 |
| FY2024 | 72 | 55 | 10 | 117 | 106 | 14 |
| FY2025 | 39 | 117 | 29 | 127 | 101 | 14 |
| FY2026 | 25 | 134 | 19 | 141 | 74 | -4 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.