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 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2019 | 197 | 281 | 232 | 246 | 109 | — |
| FY2020 | 242 | 303 | 136 | 410 | 162 | 13 |
| FY2021 | 242 | 418 | 86 | 573 | 223 | 12 |
| FY2022 | 246 | 297 | 68 | 475 | 330 | 12 |
| FY2023 | 246 | 324 | 90 | 479 | 315 | 13 |
| FY2024 | 285 | 455 | 185 | 555 | 315 | 10 |
| FY2025 | 295 | 323 | 117 | 501 | 297 | 16 |
| FY2026 | 278 | 244 | 88 | 435 | 273 | 17 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.