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 | 56 | 214 | 184 | 87 | -4 | — |
| FY2020 | 56 | 327 | 197 | 186 | -16 | 12 |
| FY2021 | 22 | 173 | 121 | 74 | -8 | 26 |
| FY2022 | 21 | 186 | 103 | 104 | 11 | 16 |
| FY2023 | 25 | 240 | 144 | 121 | 10 | 11 |
| FY2024 | 25 | 217 | 110 | 132 | 11 | 16 |
| FY2025 | 28 | 327 | 200 | 156 | 7 | 8 |
| FY2026 | 25 | 215 | 91 | 148 | 12 | 15 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.