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 | 52 | 151 | 1,043 | -840 | 8 | 25 |
| FY2016 | 72 | 99 | 859 | -687 | 52 | 21 |
| FY2017 | 80 | 131 | 797 | -585 | 66 | 16 |
| FY2018 | 73 | 92 | 597 | -433 | 65 | 18 |
| FY2019 | 63 | — | — | 63 | 59 | 23 |
| FY2020 | 91 | — | — | 91 | 79 | 18 |
| FY2021 | 103 | — | — | 103 | 91 | 1 |
| FY2022 | 90 | — | — | 90 | 75 | 18 |
| FY2023 | 91 | — | — | 91 | 75 | 22 |
| FY2024 | 90 | — | — | 90 | 86 | 24 |
| FY2025 | 102 | 90 | 423 | -231 | 74 | 23 |
| FY2026 | 93 | 111 | 493 | -289 | 73 | 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.