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 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2016 | 67 | 75 | 117 | 25 | -36 | — |
| FY2017 | 57 | 76 | 118 | 15 | -33 | 9 |
| FY2018 | 64 | 73 | 123 | 14 | -16 | 13 |
| FY2019 | 58 | 71 | 89 | 39 | -16 | 10 |
| FY2020 | 55 | 80 | 97 | 38 | -36 | -1 |
| FY2021 | 78 | 81 | 150 | 9 | -42 | -4 |
| FY2022 | 74 | 76 | 115 | 35 | -20 | 0 |
| FY2023 | 65 | 67 | 91 | 41 | -14 | 12 |
| FY2024 | 63 | 82 | 83 | 62 | 3 | 12 |
| FY2025 | 76 | 81 | 93 | 64 | -6 | 11 |
| FY2026 | 75 | 80 | 88 | 67 | -17 | 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.