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 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2011 | 106 | 221 | 115 | 212 | 181 | 12 |
| FY2016 | 88 | 150 | 46 | 192 | -1 | — |
| FY2017 | 81 | 153 | 48 | 187 | 68 | 16 |
| FY2018 | 78 | 182 | 78 | 181 | 86 | 24 |
| FY2019 | 65 | 264 | 56 | 273 | 105 | 28 |
| FY2020 | 60 | 172 | 41 | 192 | 108 | 14 |
| FY2021 | 77 | 253 | 127 | 202 | 92 | 23 |
| FY2022 | 67 | 260 | 95 | 232 | 104 | 36 |
| FY2023 | 72 | 196 | 63 | 206 | 109 | 38 |
| FY2024 | 82 | 165 | 50 | 197 | 125 | 33 |
| FY2025 | 80 | 166 | 49 | 197 | 124 | 26 |
| FY2026 | 99 | 179 | 65 | 213 | 128 | 27 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.