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 | 77 | 99 | 52 | 124 | 7 | — |
| FY2019 | 70 | 123 | 48 | 145 | 43 | 44 |
| FY2020 | 72 | 141 | 37 | 177 | 59 | 34 |
| FY2021 | 68 | 77 | 29 | 116 | 70 | 38 |
| FY2022 | 88 | 94 | 33 | 149 | 86 | 28 |
| FY2023 | 97 | 123 | 55 | 165 | 85 | 20 |
| FY2024 | 137 | 132 | 90 | 180 | 63 | 17 |
| FY2025 | 137 | 155 | 59 | 234 | 103 | 16 |
| FY2026 | 171 | 108 | 87 | 193 | 71 | 6 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.