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 | 48 | 112 | 41 | 119 | 81 | — |
| FY2016 | 83 | 95 | 40 | 138 | 118 | 25 |
| FY2017 | 110 | 141 | 48 | 202 | 167 | 19 |
| FY2018 | 115 | 184 | 62 | 237 | 173 | 18 |
| FY2019 | 61 | 113 | 56 | 118 | 78 | 26 |
| FY2020 | 52 | 185 | 57 | 180 | 98 | 24 |
| FY2021 | 64 | 133 | 60 | 137 | 85 | 19 |
| FY2022 | 70 | 193 | 55 | 208 | 145 | 20 |
| FY2023 | 82 | 156 | 46 | 192 | 123 | 27 |
| FY2024 | 68 | 148 | 39 | 177 | 128 | 28 |
| FY2025 | 89 | 163 | 42 | 210 | 134 | 22 |
| FY2026 | 82 | 174 | 46 | 210 | 148 | 18 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.