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 | 116 | 103 | 55.99 | 162 | 40.82 | 10.70 |
| FY2016 | 153 | 257 | 78.11 | 332 | 73.67 | 8.36 |
| FY2017 | 106 | 331 | 84.31 | 353 | 89.17 | 4.58 |
| FY2018 | 110 | 367 | 88.95 | 388 | 126 | 6.19 |
| FY2019 | 125 | 357 | 108 | 374 | 178 | 6.88 |
| FY2020 | 119 | 489 | 64.27 | 543 | 237 | 7.88 |
| FY2021 | 229 | 423 | 130 | 523 | 288 | 6.98 |
| FY2022 | 146 | 387 | 93.30 | 440 | 215 | 6.46 |
| FY2023 | 114 | 161 | 60.23 | 215 | 129 | 7.92 |
| FY2024 | 146 | 123 | 75.86 | 193 | 121 | 9.27 |
| FY2025 | 137 | 191 | 90.29 | 238 | 141 | 10.35 |
| FY2026 | 86.63 | 196 | 62.33 | 221 | 144 | 9.46 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.