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 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2017 | 99 | 113 | 121 | 91 | -69 | — |
| FY2018 | 92 | 85 | 112 | 64 | -50 | 14 |
| FY2019 | 79 | 77 | 110 | 45 | -5 | 37 |
| FY2020 | 60 | 130 | 130 | 61 | -40 | 50 |
| FY2021 | 69 | 206 | 145 | 130 | 28 | 60 |
| FY2022 | 79 | 172 | 91 | 160 | 117 | 43 |
| FY2023 | 67 | 234 | 130 | 171 | 168 | 19 |
| FY2024 | 71 | 140 | 98 | 114 | 157 | 22 |
| FY2025 | 70 | 205 | 129 | 146 | 144 | 27 |
| FY2026 | 97 | 229 | 159 | 167 | 147 | 25 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.