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 | 83 | 149 | 80 | 152 | 40 | — |
| FY2018 | 89 | 203 | 86 | 207 | 56 | — |
| FY2019 | 79 | 191 | 79 | 191 | 81 | 17 |
| FY2020 | 73 | 191 | 81 | 183 | 80 | 11 |
| FY2021 | 87 | 147 | 102 | 133 | 118 | 3 |
| FY2022 | 74 | 165 | 87 | 152 | 93 | 29 |
| FY2023 | 70 | 143 | 65 | 148 | 94 | 28 |
| FY2024 | 82 | 172 | 60 | 193 | 115 | 21 |
| FY2025 | 86 | 148 | 67 | 166 | 95 | 20 |
| FY2026 | 92 | 161 | 68 | 184 | 93 | 19 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.