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 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2017 | 39 | 96 | 18 | 118 | 38 | — |
| FY2018 | 49 | 84 | 61 | 72 | 24 | 22 |
| FY2019 | 17 | 85 | 42 | 60 | 31 | 23 |
| FY2020 | 43 | 165 | 66 | 142 | 52 | 9 |
| FY2021 | 108 | 266 | 102 | 273 | 92 | -4 |
| FY2022 | 41 | 236 | 113 | 164 | 72 | 11 |
| FY2023 | 35 | 164 | 75 | 124 | 56 | 12 |
| FY2024 | 4 | 157 | 27 | 134 | 52 | 16 |
| FY2025 | 4 | 181 | 22 | 163 | 46 | 12 |
| FY2026 | 20 | 169 | 71 | 118 | 44 | 12 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.