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 | 36 | 71 | 34 | 73 | 7 | 17 |
| FY2016 | 35 | 64 | 24 | 75 | 8 | 21 |
| FY2017 | 38 | 76 | 27 | 88 | 28 | 27 |
| FY2018 | 39 | 92 | 25 | 105 | 25 | 27 |
| FY2019 | 47 | 102 | 22 | 126 | 48 | 24 |
| FY2020 | 48 | 86 | 20 | 114 | 48 | 10 |
| FY2021 | 57 | 92 | 27 | 122 | 48 | 4 |
| FY2022 | 41 | 78 | 21 | 99 | 47 | 14 |
| FY2023 | 38 | 56 | 10 | 83 | 53 | 24 |
| FY2024 | 44 | 82 | 11 | 114 | 75 | 16 |
| FY2025 | 44 | 84 | 5 | 122 | 60 | 19 |
| FY2026 | 51 | 88 | 11 | 128 | 47 | 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.