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 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2006 | 14 | 61 | 545 | -470 | -55 | — |
| FY2016 | 18 | — | — | 18 | -45 | — |
| FY2017 | 16 | 106 | 565 | -443 | -66 | 7 |
| FY2018 | 24 | 99 | 721 | -597 | -79 | 9 |
| FY2019 | 21 | 79 | 453 | -353 | -60 | 10 |
| FY2020 | 18 | 90 | 490 | -382 | -49 | 10 |
| FY2021 | 37 | 228 | 1,580 | -1,316 | -283 | -3 |
| FY2022 | 15 | 107 | 784 | -662 | -132 | 6 |
| FY2023 | 22 | 77 | 703 | -605 | -36 | 22 |
| FY2024 | 17 | 72 | 739 | -650 | -51 | 19 |
| FY2025 | 14 | 79 | 872 | -779 | -31 | 20 |
| FY2026 | 37 | 111 | 746 | -599 | -72 | 13 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.