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 | 392 | — | — | 392 | 230 | 17 |
| FY2016 | 213 | 703 | 478 | 438 | 150 | 16 |
| FY2017 | 164 | 411 | 245 | 330 | 123 | 19 |
| FY2018 | 169 | 540 | 271 | 438 | 115 | 20 |
| FY2019 | 181 | 499 | 250 | 431 | 122 | 10 |
| FY2020 | 192 | 418 | 234 | 376 | 45 | 10 |
| FY2021 | 204 | 735 | 409 | 530 | 138 | 4 |
| FY2022 | 175 | 746 | 480 | 441 | 14 | 8 |
| FY2023 | 148 | 592 | 413 | 327 | 68 | 10 |
| FY2024 | 149 | 609 | 399 | 359 | -58 | 9 |
| FY2025 | 150 | 753 | 383 | 520 | 9 | 10 |
| FY2026 | 150 | 876 | 348 | 678 | 63 | 8 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.