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 | 137 | 32 | 408 | -239 | -464 | 30 |
| FY2016 | 161 | — | — | 161 | -427 | 28 |
| FY2017 | 125 | — | — | 125 | -449 | 21 |
| FY2018 | 114 | 22 | 184 | -47 | -454 | 24 |
| FY2019 | 109 | 302 | 572 | -161 | -297 | 30 |
| FY2020 | 124 | 11 | 144 | -9 | -240 | 33 |
| FY2021 | 112 | — | — | 112 | -335 | 23 |
| FY2022 | 101 | 81 | 105 | 77 | -234 | 29 |
| FY2023 | 126 | 96 | 589 | -367 | -219 | 30 |
| FY2024 | 134 | — | — | 134 | -203 | 25 |
| FY2025 | 122 | — | — | 122 | -279 | 22 |
| FY2026 | 141 | 11 | 105 | 47 | -174 | 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.