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 | Cash Conversion Cycle | Working Capital Days | ROCE % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2015 | 67 | 0 | 67 | 7 | 13 |
| FY2016 | 101 | — | 101 | -4 | 12 |
| FY2017 | 78 | 0 | 78 | -62 | 12 |
| FY2018 | 95 | 0 | 95 | -79 | 8 |
| FY2019 | 118 | 0 | 118 | -23 | 11 |
| FY2020 | 141 | 0 | 141 | 8 | 10 |
| FY2021 | 123 | 0 | 123 | 20 | 10 |
| FY2022 | 156 | 0 | 156 | 25 | 9 |
| FY2023 | 130 | 0 | 130 | 24 | 9 |
| FY2024 | 125 | 0 | 125 | 52 | 10 |
| FY2025 | 111 | 0 | 111 | 37 | 14 |
| FY2026 | 95 | 0 | 95 | 20 | 13 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.