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 | 31 | 114 | 234 | -88 | -41 | — |
| FY2018 | 25 | 125 | 193 | -44 | -113 | 7 |
| FY2019 | 26 | 148 | 193 | -20 | -102 | 5 |
| FY2020 | 27 | 179 | 233 | -27 | -115 | 8 |
| FY2021 | 22 | 215 | 263 | -26 | -161 | 6 |
| FY2022 | 22 | 283 | 316 | -11 | -88 | 4 |
| FY2023 | 21 | 215 | 348 | -113 | -102 | 2 |
| FY2024 | 20 | 177 | 315 | -118 | -102 | 5 |
| FY2025 | 23 | 135 | 281 | -123 | -111 | 4 |
| FY2026 | 24 | 128 | 282 | -130 | -98 | 7 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.