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 | 27 | 215 | 278 | -36 | -294 | 7 |
| FY2016 | 47 | 181 | 67 | 161 | 8 | 6 |
| FY2017 | 45 | 218 | 49 | 215 | -55 | 2 |
| FY2018 | 113 | 144 | 46 | 211 | 34 | 8 |
| FY2019 | 171 | 160 | 54 | 277 | 95 | 15 |
| FY2020 | 290 | 170 | 45 | 415 | 151 | 13 |
| FY2021 | 131 | 199 | 49 | 281 | -60 | 12 |
| FY2022 | 117 | 148 | 34 | 231 | -61 | 15 |
| FY2023 | 242 | 262 | 71 | 433 | 143 | 17 |
| FY2024 | 169 | 175 | 49 | 294 | 188 | 16 |
| FY2025 | 129 | 244 | 50 | 323 | 171 | 17 |
| FY2026 | 81 | 170 | 73 | 178 | 129 | 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.