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 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2020 | 24 | 198 | 40 | 181 | 62 | — |
| FY2021 | 35 | 443 | 21 | 457 | 170 | 18 |
| FY2022 | 20 | 209 | 27 | 202 | 95 | 21 |
| FY2023 | 28 | 241 | 24 | 245 | 106 | 24 |
| FY2024 | 14 | 313 | 3 | 324 | 207 | 16 |
| FY2025 | 12 | 255 | 7 | 260 | 147 | 20 |
| FY2026 | 32 | 251 | 5 | 279 | 150 | 22 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.