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 | 164 | 611 | 242 | 532 | 228 | 2.99 |
| FY2016 | 308 | 960 | 598 | 671 | 299 | -0.64 |
| FY2017 | 330 | 1,282 | 563 | 1,050 | 152 | 0.41 |
| FY2018 | 357 | 1,549 | 608 | 1,298 | -484 | -0.34 |
| FY2019 | 300 | 184 | 275 | 208 | -960 | -10.91 |
| FY2020 | 110 | 234 | 176 | 167 | -708 | -2.69 |
| FY2021 | 99.13 | — | — | 99.13 | -1,122 | 0.81 |
| FY2022 | 95.20 | 357 | 184 | 268 | -1,093 | -0.20 |
| FY2023 | 99.63 | — | — | 99.63 | -1,086 | 0.17 |
| FY2024 | 179 | — | — | 179 | -1,624 | -1.06 |
| FY2025 | 193 | — | — | 193 | -828 | 17.21 |
| FY2026 | 343 | — | — | 343 | -986 | 1.17 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.