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 | 46 | 63 | 90 | 19 | 24 | — |
| FY2016 | 40 | 65 | 91 | 14 | 18 | 14 |
| FY2017 | 47 | 63 | 90 | 19 | -29 | 13 |
| FY2018 | 50 | 66 | 112 | 5 | -72 | 15 |
| FY2019 | 53 | 58 | 94 | 17 | -14 | 16 |
| FY2020 | 36 | 64 | 79 | 22 | -13 | 10 |
| FY2021 | 70 | 71 | 132 | 9 | 12 | 9 |
| FY2022 | 70 | 67 | 100 | 37 | 3 | 8 |
| FY2023 | 45 | 60 | 82 | 23 | -2 | 9 |
| FY2024 | 47 | 57 | 83 | 22 | -10 | 12 |
| FY2025 | 52 | 63 | 81 | 34 | -14 | 12 |
| FY2026 | 62 | 67 | 93 | 36 | -11 | 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.