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 | 135 | 126 | 187 | 73 | 4 | 2 |
| FY2016 | 136 | 154 | 218 | 72 | 8 | 13 |
| FY2017 | 130 | 139 | 193 | 75 | -25 | 3 |
| FY2018 | 142 | 129 | 244 | 28 | -138 | -12 |
| FY2019 | 126 | 118 | 162 | 82 | -80 | -18 |
| FY2020 | 76 | 136 | 151 | 61 | -51 | -10 |
| FY2021 | 89 | 146 | 183 | 52 | -66 | -1 |
| FY2022 | 80 | 130 | 133 | 77 | -1 | -7 |
| FY2023 | 81 | 120 | 102 | 98 | 58 | -4 |
| FY2024 | 76 | 110 | 134 | 52 | 30 | -13 |
| FY2025 | 90 | 112 | 161 | 41 | -28 | -13 |
| FY2026 | 88 | 96 | 166 | 18 | -75 | -8 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.