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 | 77.27 | 74.81 | 11.35 | 141 | 63 | 6.18 |
| FY2016 | 88.07 | 47.84 | 9.73 | 126 | 111 | 7.51 |
| FY2017 | 92.01 | 49.56 | 26.81 | 115 | 60.22 | 8.75 |
| FY2018 | 109 | 59.98 | 18.30 | 150 | 57.46 | 8.91 |
| FY2019 | 89.80 | 55.21 | 15.03 | 130 | 102 | 8.62 |
| FY2020 | 177 | 63.59 | 13.69 | 227 | 145 | 3.59 |
| FY2021 | 160 | 260 | 72.95 | 347 | -96.70 | -0.62 |
| FY2022 | 24.30 | 276 | 32.18 | 268 | -232 | -0.06 |
| FY2023 | 2.95 | 79.66 | 1.28 | 81.33 | -594 | -1.62 |
| FY2024 | 13.59 | — | — | 13.59 | -2,853 | -0.32 |
| FY2025 | — | — | — | — | — | -0.51 |
| FY2026 | — | — | — | — | — | -0.32 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.