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 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2020 | 23 | 35 | 80 | -22 | 1 | — |
| FY2021 | 99 | 53 | 154 | -1 | 25 | 6 |
| FY2022 | 48 | 44 | 84 | 8 | 41 | 10 |
| FY2023 | 29 | 48 | 91 | -14 | -15 | 17 |
| FY2024 | 53 | 23 | 80 | -4 | 12 | 19 |
| FY2025 | 48 | 30 | 88 | -11 | -1 | 23 |
| FY2026 | 45 | 28 | 74 | -1 | 4 | 22 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.