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 | 59 | 148 | 101 | 106 | 25 | 30 |
| FY2016 | 74 | 114 | 76 | 111 | 35 | 26 |
| FY2017 | 77 | 194 | 131 | 140 | 55 | 24 |
| FY2018 | 79 | 161 | 96 | 144 | 71 | 26 |
| FY2019 | 77 | 186 | 123 | 139 | 56 | 22 |
| FY2020 | 68 | 241 | 142 | 166 | 42 | 25 |
| FY2021 | 72 | 217 | 111 | 179 | 74 | 22 |
| FY2022 | 82 | 218 | 115 | 185 | 81 | 17 |
| FY2023 | 77 | 237 | 105 | 209 | 69 | 18 |
| FY2024 | 72 | 205 | 89 | 188 | 54 | 24 |
| FY2025 | 76 | 233 | 70 | 239 | 75 | 18 |
| FY2026 | 103 | 323 | 91 | 335 | 105 | 12 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.