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 | 176 | 124 | 358 | -58 | -78 | -72 |
| FY2016 | 150 | 134 | 328 | -44 | -83 | -45 |
| FY2017 | 75 | 120 | 166 | 29 | -7 | -2 |
| FY2018 | 104 | 149 | 220 | 33 | 12 | 25 |
| FY2019 | 81 | 132 | 154 | 59 | 21 | 22 |
| FY2020 | 91 | 111 | 172 | 30 | 22 | 2 |
| FY2021 | 98 | 155 | 269 | -15 | 24 | -14 |
| FY2022 | 67 | 132 | 138 | 61 | 22 | 14 |
| FY2023 | 50 | 161 | 111 | 100 | 47 | 48 |
| FY2024 | 45 | 159 | 104 | 100 | 66 | 33 |
| FY2025 | 37 | 178 | 86 | 129 | 74 | 43 |
| FY2026 | 27 | 158 | 97 | 88 | 49 | 83 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.