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 | 259 | 10 | 729 | -460 | 143 | 12 |
| FY2016 | 195 | 15 | 392 | -182 | 149 | 16 |
| FY2017 | 237 | 16 | 503 | -250 | 152 | 16 |
| FY2018 | 88 | 40 | 187 | -59 | 77 | 19 |
| FY2019 | 108 | 55 | 354 | -190 | 120 | 18 |
| FY2020 | 100 | 57 | 270 | -113 | 114 | 15 |
| FY2021 | 111 | 34 | 390 | -245 | 123 | 11 |
| FY2022 | 99 | 36 | 234 | -99 | 89 | 8 |
| FY2023 | 66 | 19 | 119 | -34 | 73 | 13 |
| FY2024 | 43 | 25 | 148 | -80 | 69 | 23 |
| FY2025 | 47 | 42 | 199 | -110 | 64 | 20 |
| FY2026 | 36 | 27 | 142 | -79 | 59 | 5 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.