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 | 51 | — | — | 51 | -850 | -44 |
| FY2016 | 87 | — | — | 87 | -1,675 | -321 |
| FY2017 | 150 | 259 | 372 | 37 | -56 | 4 |
| FY2018 | 202 | 103 | 372 | -67 | -148 | -8 |
| FY2019 | 170 | 192 | 836 | -473 | -28 | -19 |
| FY2020 | 103 | 79 | 643 | -461 | -137 | -17 |
| FY2021 | 121 | — | — | 121 | -126 | 0 |
| FY2022 | 102 | 48 | 356 | -207 | -53 | 12 |
| FY2023 | 134 | — | — | 134 | 58 | 9 |
| FY2024 | 112 | 12 | 221 | -96 | 40 | 7 |
| FY2025 | 69 | — | — | 69 | 42 | 12 |
| FY2026 | 134 | — | — | 134 | 7 | 11 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.