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 | 63 | 88 | 33 | 118 | 94 | 16 |
| FY2016 | 71 | 78 | 27 | 122 | 37 | 19 |
| FY2017 | 76 | 104 | 52 | 128 | 40 | 24 |
| FY2018 | 112 | 97 | 35 | 174 | 61 | 24 |
| FY2019 | 121 | 95 | 47 | 169 | 62 | 23 |
| FY2020 | 148 | 100 | 23 | 226 | 71 | 14 |
| FY2021 | 147 | 123 | 32 | 238 | 90 | 15 |
| FY2022 | 149 | 122 | 41 | 230 | 80 | 13 |
| FY2023 | 120 | 186 | 51 | 254 | 79 | 14 |
| FY2024 | 98 | 163 | 49 | 211 | 60 | 16 |
| FY2025 | 117 | 129 | 49 | 198 | 81 | 11 |
| FY2026 | 157 | — | — | 157 | 39 | 8 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.