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 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2019 | 25 | 95 | 63 | 57 | 4 | — |
| FY2020 | 23 | 89 | 63 | 49 | -9 | 15 |
| FY2021 | 29 | 106 | 71 | 64 | -12 | 9 |
| FY2022 | 29 | 95 | 56 | 68 | -1 | 18 |
| FY2023 | 35 | 89 | 51 | 73 | 10 | 24 |
| FY2024 | 49 | 136 | 44 | 141 | 45 | 19 |
| FY2025 | 72 | 266 | 67 | 272 | 99 | 12 |
| FY2026 | 46 | 267 | 75 | 238 | 45 | 12 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.