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 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2012 | 46 | 41 | 72 | 15 | -39 | 13 |
| FY2016 | 40 | 47 | 71 | 16 | -25 | — |
| FY2017 | 38 | 37 | 84 | -9 | -15 | 24 |
| FY2018 | 39 | 40 | 85 | -6 | -1 | 30 |
| FY2019 | 42 | 48 | 90 | 1 | 2 | 28 |
| FY2020 | 50 | 67 | 129 | -13 | -4 | 17 |
| FY2021 | 68 | 36 | 121 | -17 | -11 | 25 |
| FY2022 | 45 | 27 | 84 | -13 | -9 | 38 |
| FY2023 | 45 | 34 | 87 | -8 | 48 | 40 |
| FY2024 | 30 | 34 | 84 | -21 | -19 | 41 |
| FY2025 | 37 | 36 | 94 | -22 | -16 | 38 |
| FY2026 | 39 | 40 | 109 | -30 | -18 | 34 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.