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 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2012 | 42 | 87 | 19 | 109 | 25 | 9 |
| FY2013 | 47 | 68 | 13 | 101 | 25 | 11 |
| FY2016 | 65 | 79 | 36 | 108 | 31 | — |
| FY2017 | 63 | 84 | 40 | 107 | 31 | 11 |
| FY2019 | 51 | 66 | 27 | 90 | 28 | — |
| FY2020 | 46 | 80 | 26 | 101 | 34 | 11 |
| FY2021 | 50 | 74 | 41 | 83 | 38 | 13 |
| FY2022 | 42 | 59 | 35 | 65 | 33 | 16 |
| FY2023 | 34 | 68 | 24 | 78 | 46 | 23 |
| FY2024 | 34 | 66 | 22 | 77 | 61 | 21 |
| FY2025 | 44 | 59 | 24 | 79 | 63 | 21 |
| FY2026 | 45 | 64 | 31 | 78 | 64 | 16 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.