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 | 84 | 282 | 72 | 294 | 20 | 10 |
| FY2016 | 86 | 178 | 85 | 179 | -8 | 10 |
| FY2017 | 93 | 246 | 111 | 228 | 10 | 14 |
| FY2018 | 94 | 284 | 92 | 285 | 51 | 16 |
| FY2019 | 84 | 238 | 65 | 257 | 56 | 16 |
| FY2020 | 81 | 255 | 75 | 260 | 56 | 15 |
| FY2021 | 78 | 262 | 81 | 259 | 103 | 27 |
| FY2022 | 78 | 264 | 58 | 284 | 108 | 24 |
| FY2023 | 79 | 207 | 47 | 240 | 119 | 19 |
| FY2024 | 81 | 196 | 62 | 215 | 112 | 23 |
| FY2025 | 75 | 214 | 49 | 240 | 115 | 27 |
| FY2026 | 85 | 189 | 48 | 225 | 103 | 22 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.