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 | 83 | 129 | 126 | 85 | 21 | 63 |
| FY2016 | 68 | 143 | 82 | 129 | 42 | 57 |
| FY2017 | 74 | 138 | 88 | 124 | 60 | 52 |
| FY2018 | 101 | 174 | 139 | 136 | 81 | 34 |
| FY2019 | 76 | 171 | 91 | 157 | 64 | 34 |
| FY2020 | 56 | 146 | 51 | 151 | 31 | 32 |
| FY2021 | 40 | 170 | 76 | 134 | -6 | 25 |
| FY2022 | 43 | 138 | 85 | 97 | -57 | 21 |
| FY2023 | 38 | 122 | 64 | 96 | -48 | 29 |
| FY2024 | 39 | 108 | 78 | 70 | -39 | 38 |
| FY2025 | 66 | 78 | 125 | 20 | 47 | 41 |
| FY2026 | 107 | 84 | 176 | 15 | 71 | 34 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.