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 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2016 | 46 | 84 | 48 | 82 | 35 | — |
| FY2017 | 52 | 47 | 49 | 49 | 23 | 17 |
| FY2018 | 51 | 61 | 60 | 51 | 17 | 22 |
| FY2019 | 52 | 82 | 73 | 60 | 24 | 17 |
| FY2020 | 41 | 96 | 81 | 56 | 26 | 8 |
| FY2021 | 68 | 92 | 98 | 62 | 42 | 2 |
| FY2022 | 48 | 88 | 76 | 60 | 25 | 2 |
| FY2023 | 46 | 97 | 81 | 63 | -2 | 2 |
| FY2024 | 47 | 88 | 73 | 62 | -13 | 2 |
| FY2025 | 48 | 79 | 87 | 40 | -19 | 6 |
| FY2026 | 67 | 124 | 128 | 62 | -56 | 4 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.