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 | Cash Conversion Cycle | Working Capital Days | ROCE % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2015 | 279 | — | 279 | -76 | 14 |
| FY2016 | 240 | — | 240 | -278 | 13 |
| FY2017 | 239 | — | 239 | -209 | 18 |
| FY2018 | 138 | — | 138 | -241 | 18 |
| FY2019 | 226 | — | 226 | -103 | 11 |
| FY2020 | 115 | — | 115 | -189 | 10 |
| FY2021 | 92 | — | 92 | -206 | 22 |
| FY2022 | 85 | — | 85 | -279 | 19 |
| FY2023 | 90 | — | 90 | -402 | 13 |
| FY2024 | 99 | — | 99 | -329 | 21 |
| FY2025 | 105 | — | 105 | -191 | 19 |
| FY2026 | 158 | 0 | 158 | -147 | 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.