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 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2016 | 31 | 151 | 253 | -72 | -287 | — |
| FY2017 | 18 | 235 | 343 | -90 | -475 | 4 |
| FY2018 | 32 | 141 | 244 | -71 | -414 | -7 |
| FY2019 | 49 | 220 | 369 | -100 | -477 | 3 |
| FY2020 | 32 | 252 | 418 | -134 | -500 | 1 |
| FY2021 | 23 | 168 | 293 | -101 | -421 | 2 |
| FY2022 | 24 | 192 | 302 | -86 | -469 | 2 |
| FY2023 | 18 | 169 | 266 | -80 | -456 | 0 |
| FY2024 | 15 | 187 | 282 | -80 | -476 | 2 |
| FY2025 | 12 | 227 | 333 | -95 | -568 | 0 |
| FY2026 | 10 | 171 | 307 | -126 | -698 | -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.