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 | 32 | 63 | 82 | 13 | -10 | 25 |
| FY2016 | 46 | 37 | 84 | -1 | -6 | 24 |
| FY2017 | 40 | 44 | 103 | -20 | -2 | 21 |
| FY2018 | 36 | 43 | 96 | -17 | -7 | 18 |
| FY2019 | 35 | 46 | 106 | -24 | -14 | 15 |
| FY2020 | 31 | 52 | 104 | -21 | -30 | 8 |
| FY2021 | 36 | 53 | 118 | -29 | -32 | 6 |
| FY2022 | 38 | 64 | 113 | -11 | -27 | 6 |
| FY2023 | 39 | 63 | 114 | -11 | -25 | 9 |
| FY2024 | 58 | 61 | 152 | -33 | -32 | 14 |
| FY2025 | 56 | 64 | 142 | -21 | -16 | 14 |
| FY2026 | 58 | 68 | 152 | -26 | -16 | 13 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.