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 | 99 | 253 | 146 | 207 | 40 | 11 |
| FY2016 | 107 | 260 | 154 | 213 | 41 | 10 |
| FY2017 | 112 | 270 | 167 | 215 | 45 | 10 |
| FY2018 | 119 | 226 | 142 | 203 | 67 | 9 |
| FY2019 | 73 | 151 | 80 | 145 | 46 | 10 |
| FY2020 | 61 | 192 | 104 | 150 | 53 | 8 |
| FY2021 | 89 | 185 | 108 | 166 | 6 | 3 |
| FY2022 | 98 | 197 | 112 | 182 | 73 | 5 |
| FY2023 | 67 | 212 | 100 | 179 | 77 | 0 |
| FY2024 | 82 | 215 | 127 | 170 | 63 | 6 |
| FY2025 | 76 | 184 | 117 | 143 | 43 | -5 |
| FY2026 | — | — | — | — | — | 0 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.