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 | 55 | — | — | 55 | 17 | 38 |
| FY2016 | 71 | 40 | 122 | -12 | 1 | 15 |
| FY2017 | 46 | — | — | 46 | 6 | 10 |
| FY2018 | 95 | — | — | 95 | 24 | 19 |
| FY2019 | 87 | — | — | 87 | 20 | 7 |
| FY2020 | 92 | — | — | 92 | -7 | 3 |
| FY2021 | 84 | — | — | 84 | 33 | 10 |
| FY2022 | 8 | — | — | 8 | 51 | 30 |
| FY2023 | 5 | — | — | 5 | -1 | 19 |
| FY2024 | 10 | — | — | 10 | 1 | -4 |
| FY2025 | 23 | — | — | 23 | -6 | 7 |
| FY2026 | 31 | — | — | 31 | -18 | -5 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.