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 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2007 | 114 | 165 | 72 | 206 | 169 | — |
| FY2016 | 36 | 106 | 79 | 63 | 19 | — |
| FY2017 | 18 | 114 | 82 | 50 | -2 | 13 |
| FY2018 | 19 | 135 | 49 | 105 | 27 | 18 |
| FY2019 | 20 | 170 | 59 | 131 | 39 | 17 |
| FY2020 | 43 | 191 | 66 | 169 | 57 | 13 |
| FY2021 | 68 | 148 | 70 | 146 | 48 | 17 |
| FY2022 | 34 | 333 | 97 | 270 | 94 | 13 |
| FY2023 | 104 | 243 | 117 | 230 | 104 | 4 |
| FY2024 | 122 | 201 | 130 | 192 | 85 | 12 |
| FY2025 | 95 | 238 | 95 | 237 | 88 | 13 |
| FY2026 | 89 | 260 | 89 | 260 | 98 | 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.