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 | 124 | 273 | 75 | 323 | 101 | 18 |
| FY2016 | 96 | 302 | 69 | 330 | 73 | 5 |
| FY2017 | 118 | 161 | 91 | 189 | 73 | 16 |
| FY2018 | 120 | 178 | 76 | 222 | 105 | 20 |
| FY2019 | 121 | 151 | 80 | 192 | 92 | 19 |
| FY2020 | 119 | 212 | 75 | 256 | 85 | 0 |
| FY2021 | 104 | 74 | 102 | 76 | 66 | 29 |
| FY2022 | 119 | 87 | 115 | 91 | 68 | 21 |
| FY2023 | 92 | 102 | 62 | 131 | 96 | 10 |
| FY2024 | 178 | 118 | 194 | 102 | 96 | 31 |
| FY2025 | 152 | 80 | 108 | 124 | 111 | 55 |
| FY2026 | 173 | 90 | 129 | 134 | 91 | 24 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.