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 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2018 | 36 | 86 | 69 | 53 | 30 | — |
| FY2019 | 17 | 96 | 41 | 72 | 36 | 28 |
| FY2020 | 13 | 203 | 79 | 136 | 65 | 11 |
| FY2021 | 31 | 98 | 35 | 94 | 45 | 27 |
| FY2022 | 13 | 119 | 69 | 63 | 53 | 44 |
| FY2023 | 18 | 90 | 63 | 45 | -1 | 15 |
| FY2024 | 20 | 84 | 91 | 12 | 3 | 11 |
| FY2025 | 19 | 100 | 97 | 22 | 1 | 12 |
| FY2026 | 18 | 123 | 133 | 8 | -11 | 13 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.