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 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2014 | 431 | 18,696 | 5,195 | 13,932 | 2,140 | 4 |
| FY2015 | 319 | — | — | 319 | 1,496 | 6 |
| FY2016 | 602 | 25,828 | 5,891 | 20,539 | 2,057 | 2 |
| FY2017 | 836 | — | — | 836 | 3,703 | 1 |
| FY2018 | 1,210 | — | — | 1,210 | 4,564 | -1 |
| FY2019 | 117 | 2,649 | 397 | 2,368 | 213 | -1 |
| FY2020 | 86 | 1,970 | 365 | 1,691 | 74 | 2 |
| FY2021 | 339 | 5,862 | 962 | 5,239 | 61 | 0 |
| FY2022 | 117 | 1,632 | 319 | 1,430 | -140 | -3 |
| FY2023 | 217 | 3,142 | 677 | 2,681 | -376 | -5 |
| FY2024 | 161 | 3,213 | 776 | 2,598 | -939 | -5 |
| FY2025 | 265 | 9,765 | 2,743 | 7,288 | -1,460 | -1 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.