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 | 217 | 3,248 | 3,493 | -28 | -153 | -4 |
| FY2016 | 180 | 1,174 | 1,482 | -128 | 28 | 9 |
| FY2017 | 253 | — | — | 253 | -56 | 11 |
| FY2018 | 218 | — | — | 218 | -31 | 14 |
| FY2019 | 126 | — | — | 126 | -47 | 11 |
| FY2020 | 96 | — | — | 96 | -134 | 3 |
| FY2021 | 115 | — | — | 115 | -164 | 9 |
| FY2022 | 111 | — | — | 111 | -409 | 19 |
| FY2023 | 81 | — | — | 81 | -249 | 16 |
| FY2024 | 70 | — | — | 70 | 2 | 21 |
| FY2025 | 67 | — | — | 67 | -62 | 17 |
| FY2026 | 152 | 27 | 203 | -25 | 101 | 14 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.