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 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2016 | 159 | 161 | 168 | 151 | 43 | — |
| FY2017 | 151 | 89 | 114 | 126 | 54 | 6 |
| FY2018 | 219 | 140 | 159 | 200 | 125 | 6 |
| FY2019 | 160 | 127 | 157 | 130 | 147 | 9 |
| FY2020 | 128 | 161 | 166 | 123 | 105 | 8 |
| FY2021 | 132 | 96 | 133 | 95 | 123 | 6 |
| FY2022 | 115 | 120 | 104 | 131 | 153 | 6 |
| FY2023 | 128 | 153 | 128 | 152 | 137 | 6 |
| FY2024 | 92 | 99 | 93 | 98 | 151 | 11 |
| FY2025 | 98 | 79 | 59 | 117 | 123 | 14 |
| FY2026 | 104 | 95 | 66 | 133 | 84 | 11 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.