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 | 96 | 125 | 94 | 127 | 26 | 16 |
| FY2016 | 92 | 113 | 96 | 109 | 40 | 19 |
| FY2017 | 98 | 134 | 139 | 93 | 14 | 22 |
| FY2018 | 92 | 131 | 126 | 96 | 43 | 18 |
| FY2019 | 79 | 119 | 94 | 105 | 51 | 17 |
| FY2020 | 78 | 154 | 139 | 92 | 24 | 18 |
| FY2021 | 95 | 142 | 152 | 85 | 29 | 17 |
| FY2022 | 83 | 163 | 150 | 96 | 18 | 13 |
| FY2023 | 77 | 132 | 136 | 73 | 23 | 6 |
| FY2024 | 84 | 113 | 132 | 65 | 40 | 11 |
| FY2025 | 134 | 515 | 287 | 362 | 173 | 6 |
| FY2026 | 63 | 179 | 113 | 129 | 62 | 5 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.