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 | 44 | 88 | 45 | 86 | 27 | 32 |
| FY2016 | 48 | 89 | 53 | 84 | 36 | 45 |
| FY2017 | 50 | 100 | 54 | 96 | 40 | 39 |
| FY2018 | 56 | 102 | 69 | 89 | 49 | 36 |
| FY2019 | 54 | 95 | 59 | 90 | 48 | 33 |
| FY2020 | 54 | 100 | 67 | 88 | 36 | 33 |
| FY2021 | 66 | 133 | 109 | 91 | 23 | 28 |
| FY2022 | 53 | 114 | 70 | 96 | 43 | 25 |
| FY2023 | 47 | 98 | 57 | 88 | 40 | 24 |
| FY2024 | 49 | 86 | 70 | 66 | 19 | 30 |
| FY2025 | 50 | 103 | 85 | 68 | 19 | 30 |
| FY2026 | 55 | 98 | 86 | 66 | 18 | 31 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.