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 | 94 | 88 | 85 | 98 | 52 | 17 |
| FY2016 | 103 | 116 | 196 | 24 | 8 | 18 |
| FY2017 | 82 | 157 | 173 | 66 | 23 | 16 |
| FY2018 | 83 | 147 | 125 | 104 | 46 | 21 |
| FY2019 | 79 | 122 | 125 | 76 | 19 | 17 |
| FY2020 | 69 | 128 | 139 | 57 | 3 | 13 |
| FY2021 | 102 | 193 | 176 | 120 | 23 | 5 |
| FY2022 | 68 | 167 | 142 | 94 | 2 | 10 |
| FY2023 | 46 | 159 | 118 | 86 | -9 | 13 |
| FY2024 | 58 | 155 | 149 | 64 | -11 | 16 |
| FY2025 | 66 | 178 | 167 | 77 | 4 | 16 |
| FY2026 | 74 | 176 | 157 | 93 | -1 | 15 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.