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 | 140 | 183 | 359 | -36 | 43 | 11 |
| FY2016 | 80 | 137 | 283 | -66 | 40 | 12 |
| FY2017 | 99 | 165 | 379 | -114 | 55 | 12 |
| FY2018 | 92 | 145 | 382 | -145 | 58 | 12 |
| FY2019 | 84 | 134 | 376 | -159 | 70 | 12 |
| FY2020 | 130 | 148 | 498 | -220 | 73 | 0 |
| FY2021 | 219 | 204 | 717 | -294 | 6 | -1 |
| FY2022 | 245 | 297 | 1,204 | -662 | -115 | -1 |
| FY2023 | 268 | 270 | 1,338 | -801 | -238 | -1 |
| FY2024 | 354 | 524 | 2,612 | -1,734 | -338 | 0 |
| FY2025 | 220 | 301 | 2,372 | -1,852 | 406 | 0 |
| FY2026 | 187 | 355 | 1,921 | -1,379 | 518 | 2 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.