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 | 16 | 17 | 145 | -112 | -100 | — |
| FY2017 | 48 | 8 | 174 | -118 | -112 | 50 |
| FY2018 | 60 | 43 | 160 | -58 | -55 | 44 |
| FY2019 | 51 | 66 | 140 | -22 | -16 | 40 |
| FY2020 | 57 | 66 | 148 | -25 | 0 | 40 |
| FY2021 | 67 | 82 | 237 | -88 | 3 | 22 |
| FY2022 | 65 | 60 | 189 | -64 | 13 | 35 |
| FY2023 | 82 | 96 | 231 | -53 | 22 | 25 |
| FY2024 | 50 | 147 | 194 | 3 | 33 | 19 |
| FY2025 | 77 | 145 | 186 | 35 | 65 | 9 |
| FY2026 | 108 | 107 | 143 | 71 | 21 | 8 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.