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 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2018 | 105 | 203 | 176 | 133 | 114 | — |
| FY2019 | 110 | 193 | 136 | 166 | 116 | 27 |
| FY2020 | 128 | 146 | 122 | 152 | 109 | 26 |
| FY2021 | 117 | 185 | 145 | 157 | 95 | 32 |
| FY2022 | 101 | 198 | 109 | 189 | 127 | 33 |
| FY2023 | 98 | 157 | 86 | 169 | 136 | 29 |
| FY2024 | 92 | 136 | 96 | 132 | 172 | 20 |
| FY2025 | 91 | 153 | 106 | 137 | 180 | 25 |
| FY2026 | 83 | 166 | 86 | 163 | 154 | 22 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.