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 | 163 | 61 | 123 | 14 | 30 |
| FY2016 | 24 | 147 | 63 | 108 | 12 | 30 |
| FY2017 | 28 | 146 | 63 | 110 | 19 | 26 |
| FY2018 | 33 | 130 | 72 | 90 | 27 | 30 |
| FY2019 | 35 | 130 | 58 | 107 | 42 | 26 |
| FY2020 | 26 | 157 | 65 | 119 | 57 | 24 |
| FY2021 | 28 | 154 | 81 | 101 | 44 | 26 |
| FY2022 | 34 | 202 | 67 | 170 | 75 | 18 |
| FY2023 | 35 | 154 | 69 | 121 | 59 | 12 |
| FY2024 | 45 | 179 | 76 | 148 | 68 | 14 |
| FY2025 | 41 | 177 | 63 | 155 | 62 | 11 |
| FY2026 | 40 | 184 | 87 | 138 | 63 | 11 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.