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 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2013 | 6.10 | — | — | 6.10 | 54.90 | 1.55 |
| FY2014 | 34.16 | — | — | 34.16 | 208 | 1.72 |
| FY2015 | 28.48 | 1,597 | 1,210 | 416 | 187 | -3.82 |
| FY2016 | 21.91 | 378 | 333 | 67.28 | 23.29 | -1 |
| FY2017 | 25.90 | 230 | 348 | -92.49 | 61.41 | 2 |
| FY2018 | 23.20 | 615 | 757 | -118 | -0.51 | 4.38 |
| FY2019 | 28.93 | 845 | 560 | 314 | 25.52 | 3.13 |
| FY2020 | 19.65 | — | — | 19.65 | 124 | 0.32 |
| FY2021 | 14.59 | 343 | 174 | 183 | 122 | 13.08 |
| FY2022 | 23.82 | — | — | 23.82 | 346 | 1.79 |
| FY2023 | 13.88 | 294 | 236 | 71.13 | 229 | -0.58 |
| FY2024 | 10.88 | 675 | 456 | 230 | -13.66 | 1.50 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.