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 | 21.40 | 260 | 46.41 | 235 | 85.59 | 10.34 |
| FY2016 | 28.40 | 198 | 42.24 | 184 | 88.58 | 14.04 |
| FY2017 | 82.50 | 319 | 96.43 | 305 | 76.93 | 48.28 |
| FY2018 | 21.65 | 324 | 72.37 | 273 | 78.10 | 31.82 |
| FY2019 | 19.16 | 365 | 126 | 258 | 72.39 | 33.75 |
| FY2020 | 22.71 | 204 | 88.17 | 139 | 64.85 | 23.21 |
| FY2021 | 75.85 | 650 | 268 | 458 | 316 | -3.05 |
| FY2022 | 52.04 | 287 | 142 | 197 | 145 | 12.73 |
| FY2023 | 37.16 | 209 | 73.29 | 172 | 120 | 52.41 |
| FY2024 | 29.90 | 370 | 109 | 291 | 171 | 43.41 |
| FY2025 | 48.12 | 364 | 58.70 | 354 | 168 | 27.44 |
| FY2026 | 71.55 | 345 | 64.53 | 352 | 160 | 18.29 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.