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 | 79.92 | 61.24 | 60.60 | 80.57 | 59.28 | 15.08 |
| FY2016 | 106 | 44.11 | 42.27 | 107 | 87.82 | 18.79 |
| FY2017 | 131 | 140 | 98.31 | 173 | 85.55 | 14.30 |
| FY2018 | 177 | 113 | 103 | 187 | 131 | 11.95 |
| FY2019 | 173 | 179 | 114 | 239 | 118 | 5.20 |
| FY2020 | 113 | 186 | 115 | 184 | 87.22 | 8.52 |
| FY2021 | 165 | 432 | 188 | 409 | 157 | 1.62 |
| FY2022 | 155 | 280 | 105 | 330 | 127 | 5.62 |
| FY2023 | 99.53 | 137 | 87.40 | 149 | 68.19 | 18.65 |
| FY2024 | 102 | 242 | 113 | 231 | 64.42 | 13.48 |
| FY2025 | 140 | 215 | 103 | 253 | 82.56 | 14.59 |
| FY2026 | 171 | 387 | 196 | 362 | 160 | 14.18 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.