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 | 87 | — | — | 87 | 0 | 6 |
| FY2016 | 91 | — | — | 91 | -4 | 4 |
| FY2017 | 68 | — | — | 68 | -14 | 0 |
| FY2018 | 83 | — | — | 83 | -31 | 1 |
| FY2019 | 81 | — | — | 81 | -10 | 4 |
| FY2020 | 84 | — | — | 84 | 16 | 2 |
| FY2021 | 81 | — | — | 81 | 32 | 3 |
| FY2022 | 86 | — | — | 86 | 25 | 3 |
| FY2023 | 63 | 35 | 153 | -55 | 10 | 6 |
| FY2024 | 60 | 34 | 94 | -1 | 7 | 7 |
| FY2025 | 60 | 33 | 83 | 9 | 16 | 4 |
| FY2026 | 51 | 23 | 78 | -4 | 10 | 4 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.