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 | 71 | 274 | 14 | 330 | 114 | 30 |
| FY2016 | 71 | 244 | 24 | 292 | 137 | 28 |
| FY2017 | 87 | 258 | 48 | 297 | 121 | 35 |
| FY2018 | 97 | 267 | 46 | 318 | 128 | 24 |
| FY2019 | 74 | 287 | 47 | 313 | 96 | 25 |
| FY2020 | 65 | 236 | 23 | 278 | 111 | 25 |
| FY2021 | 81 | 382 | 72 | 391 | 208 | 5 |
| FY2022 | 80 | 318 | 47 | 350 | 156 | 6 |
| FY2023 | 71 | 270 | 28 | 313 | 121 | 19 |
| FY2024 | 77 | 265 | 22 | 320 | 141 | 16 |
| FY2025 | 71 | 278 | 33 | 316 | 150 | 15 |
| FY2026 | 71 | 296 | 38 | 330 | 155 | 10 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.