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 | 30 | 78 | 44 | 64 | -8 | 14 |
| FY2016 | 39 | 73 | 60 | 52 | -7 | 16 |
| FY2017 | 38 | 120 | 81 | 77 | 3 | 11 |
| FY2018 | 39 | 84 | 72 | 50 | 57 | 2 |
| FY2019 | 40 | 79 | 72 | 47 | 57 | 9 |
| FY2020 | 29 | 103 | 64 | 68 | 23 | 10 |
| FY2021 | 37 | 138 | 70 | 105 | 46 | 15 |
| FY2022 | 31 | 106 | 45 | 91 | 54 | 12 |
| FY2023 | 33 | 108 | 55 | 86 | 34 | 3 |
| FY2024 | 33 | 123 | 57 | 98 | 29 | 6 |
| FY2025 | 30 | 93 | 40 | 83 | 25 | 6 |
| FY2026 | 28 | 108 | 56 | 80 | 42 | 2 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.