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 | 57 | 208 | 104 | 162 | 18 | 17 |
| FY2016 | 70 | 181 | 92 | 159 | 22 | 13 |
| FY2017 | 60 | 249 | 121 | 188 | 17 | 7 |
| FY2018 | 87 | 263 | 173 | 177 | 34 | 7 |
| FY2019 | 78 | 249 | 155 | 172 | 41 | 10 |
| FY2020 | 81 | 298 | 148 | 230 | 50 | 8 |
| FY2021 | 92 | 293 | 164 | 220 | 59 | 8 |
| FY2022 | 85 | 396 | 220 | 261 | 64 | 10 |
| FY2023 | 86 | 312 | 163 | 235 | 55 | 8 |
| FY2024 | 90 | 330 | 140 | 280 | 72 | 4 |
| FY2025 | 89 | 383 | 165 | 307 | 74 | 4 |
| FY2026 | 90 | 391 | 204 | 277 | 76 | 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.