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 | 107 | 175 | 104 | 178 | 149 | — |
| FY2016 | 127 | 194 | 109 | 213 | 156 | 6 |
| FY2017 | 118 | 240 | 169 | 188 | 0 | 3 |
| FY2018 | 113 | 190 | 122 | 181 | 23 | 10 |
| FY2019 | 116 | 172 | 114 | 173 | 48 | 12 |
| FY2020 | 97 | 177 | 87 | 187 | 43 | 12 |
| FY2021 | 100 | 179 | 111 | 168 | 64 | 26 |
| FY2022 | 106 | 229 | 88 | 247 | 92 | 19 |
| FY2023 | 121 | 200 | 77 | 244 | 109 | 21 |
| FY2024 | 109 | 209 | 104 | 215 | 86 | 19 |
| FY2025 | 112 | 217 | 116 | 212 | 100 | 18 |
| FY2026 | 97 | 233 | 178 | 153 | 120 | 8 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.