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 | 166 | 33.33 | 108 | 91.60 | 197 | 8.77 |
| FY2016 | 88.81 | 76.03 | 97.30 | 67.54 | 169 | 9.28 |
| FY2017 | 126 | 14.65 | 68.28 | 72.57 | -1.11 | 9.35 |
| FY2018 | 118 | 21.63 | 167 | -27.65 | 40.71 | 9 |
| FY2019 | 151 | 26.94 | 79.15 | 98.58 | 35.83 | 5.88 |
| FY2020 | 179 | 37.49 | 75.76 | 141 | 133 | 2.79 |
| FY2021 | 192 | 41.12 | 97.58 | 136 | 178 | 0.92 |
| FY2022 | 151 | 31.64 | 51.13 | 132 | 286 | -2.11 |
| FY2023 | 137 | 9.39 | 60.52 | 86.35 | 229 | 2.07 |
| FY2024 | 151 | 5.96 | 46.51 | 111 | 214 | 2.84 |
| FY2025 | 118 | 10.32 | 54.83 | 73.96 | 188 | 1.64 |
| FY2026 | 119 | 7.99 | 70.18 | 57.29 | 177 | 2.26 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.