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 | 72 | 237 | 289 | 21 | 9 | 5 |
| FY2016 | 91 | 134 | 218 | 7 | -148 | -13 |
| FY2017 | 106 | 194 | 365 | -65 | -441 | -11 |
| FY2018 | 109 | 206 | 418 | -103 | -583 | 0 |
| FY2019 | 133 | 252 | 502 | -117 | -550 | 3 |
| FY2020 | 136 | 115 | 298 | -46 | -12 | -8 |
| FY2021 | 120 | 200 | 412 | -91 | -147 | 5 |
| FY2022 | 110 | 144 | 340 | -86 | -42 | 13 |
| FY2023 | 106 | 152 | 169 | 89 | 16 | 15 |
| FY2024 | 110 | 113 | 135 | 87 | 76 | 22 |
| FY2025 | 104 | 191 | 171 | 125 | 94 | 28 |
| FY2026 | 198 | 117 | 98 | 217 | 148 | 12 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.