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 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2017 | 106 | 236 | 115 | 227 | 31 | — |
| FY2018 | 82 | 132 | 85 | 129 | 20 | 13 |
| FY2019 | 90 | 162 | 95 | 157 | 40 | 18 |
| FY2020 | 60 | 135 | 55 | 139 | 45 | 20 |
| FY2021 | 68 | 170 | 83 | 155 | 65 | 12 |
| FY2022 | 69 | 279 | 138 | 209 | 19 | 10 |
| FY2023 | 67 | 311 | 114 | 264 | 16 | 6 |
| FY2024 | 72 | 245 | 105 | 212 | 37 | 12 |
| FY2025 | 68 | 262 | 134 | 197 | 35 | 16 |
| FY2026 | 75 | 235 | 150 | 160 | 54 | 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.