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 | 40 | 193 | 117 | 116 | -10 | 17 |
| FY2016 | 40 | 235 | 118 | 158 | -20 | 10 |
| FY2017 | 53 | 213 | 133 | 133 | -48 | 3 |
| FY2018 | 54 | 176 | 107 | 124 | -58 | 6 |
| FY2019 | 54 | 173 | 167 | 60 | -79 | 6 |
| FY2020 | 44 | 124 | 147 | 21 | -111 | 0 |
| FY2021 | 50 | 205 | 182 | 74 | -132 | 6 |
| FY2022 | 64 | 190 | 157 | 98 | -101 | 6 |
| FY2023 | 73 | 158 | 149 | 81 | -111 | 3 |
| FY2024 | 66 | 157 | 111 | 112 | -108 | 2 |
| FY2025 | 49 | 187 | 143 | 93 | -158 | 3 |
| FY2026 | 44 | 201 | 94 | 151 | -65 | -1 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.