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 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2017 | 98 | 440 | 299 | 239 | -831 | — |
| FY2018 | 85 | 369 | 255 | 199 | -472 | -9 |
| FY2019 | 73 | 354 | 321 | 105 | -315 | -5 |
| FY2020 | 62 | 513 | 404 | 171 | -507 | -10 |
| FY2021 | 97 | 341 | 329 | 109 | -270 | -1 |
| FY2022 | 89 | 276 | 220 | 145 | -204 | -2 |
| FY2023 | 86 | 268 | 241 | 113 | -139 | -3 |
| FY2024 | 63 | 290 | 295 | 58 | -171 | -17 |
| FY2025 | 43 | 305 | 272 | 77 | -214 | -19 |
| FY2026 | 41 | 255 | 264 | 32 | -231 | -18 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.