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 | 79 | 235 | 115 | 200 | 12 | 15 |
| FY2016 | 76 | 208 | 95 | 188 | 12 | 6 |
| FY2017 | 102 | 516 | 285 | 333 | 17 | 13 |
| FY2018 | 96 | 644 | 344 | 396 | 37 | 18 |
| FY2019 | 92 | 711 | 293 | 510 | 71 | 25 |
| FY2020 | 67 | 797 | 206 | 658 | 86 | 18 |
| FY2021 | 75 | 838 | 348 | 566 | 73 | 24 |
| FY2022 | 90 | 700 | 287 | 503 | 99 | 30 |
| FY2023 | 80 | 233 | 97 | 216 | 56 | 26 |
| FY2024 | 80 | 223 | 73 | 229 | 68 | 25 |
| FY2025 | 89 | 206 | 75 | 220 | 93 | 19 |
| FY2026 | 96 | 293 | 105 | 284 | 116 | 15 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.