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 | 17 | 67 | 131 | -47 | -62 | 21 |
| FY2016 | 18 | 73 | 138 | -46 | -63 | 15 |
| FY2017 | 19 | 77 | 138 | -41 | -69 | 9 |
| FY2018 | 25 | 83 | 151 | -43 | -71 | 9 |
| FY2019 | 23 | 73 | 133 | -38 | -78 | 2 |
| FY2020 | 16 | 82 | 145 | -48 | -92 | 0 |
| FY2021 | 19 | 83 | 175 | -74 | -112 | 6 |
| FY2022 | 16 | 71 | 141 | -53 | -88 | 1 |
| FY2023 | 17 | 66 | 128 | -45 | -63 | 6 |
| FY2024 | 14 | 64 | 126 | -48 | -55 | 19 |
| FY2025 | 13 | 78 | 160 | -69 | -75 | 16 |
| FY2026 | 14 | 85 | 158 | -59 | -81 | 3 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.