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 | 20 | — | — | 20 | -39 | 29 |
| FY2016 | 20 | — | — | 20 | -18 | 35 |
| FY2017 | 14 | 271 | 463 | -178 | -23 | 33 |
| FY2018 | 16 | 248 | 187 | 76 | -107 | 26 |
| FY2019 | 18 | 138 | 164 | -8 | -54 | 23 |
| FY2020 | 14 | — | — | 14 | -37 | 24 |
| FY2021 | 37 | 159 | 227 | -31 | -56 | 16 |
| FY2022 | 20 | 107 | 126 | 1 | 2 | 15 |
| FY2023 | 15 | 119 | 147 | -12 | 2 | 22 |
| FY2024 | 7 | 83 | 93 | -4 | -21 | 22 |
| FY2025 | 8 | 56 | 63 | 0 | -23 | 21 |
| FY2026 | 8 | 36 | 43 | 1 | -23 | 19 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.