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 | 74 | 96 | 113 | 57 | 39 | 11 |
| FY2016 | 81 | 89 | 112 | 57 | 37 | 17 |
| FY2017 | 68 | 136 | 94 | 110 | 4 | 22 |
| FY2018 | 62 | 110 | 92 | 80 | 43 | 29 |
| FY2019 | 63 | 91 | 58 | 96 | 58 | 21 |
| FY2020 | 75 | 127 | 79 | 123 | 88 | 21 |
| FY2021 | 88 | 129 | 77 | 140 | 113 | 22 |
| FY2022 | 90 | 149 | 85 | 154 | 109 | 19 |
| FY2023 | 99 | 197 | 103 | 193 | 140 | 20 |
| FY2024 | 91 | 150 | 122 | 119 | 45 | 11 |
| FY2025 | 90 | 117 | 118 | 89 | 25 | 11 |
| FY2026 | 83 | 121 | 144 | 60 | 44 | 21 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.