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 | 115 | 178 | 195 | 98 | 45 | 21 |
| FY2016 | 133 | 204 | 213 | 124 | 48 | 19 |
| FY2017 | 127 | 194 | 228 | 93 | 84 | 22 |
| FY2018 | 127 | 204 | 255 | 76 | 94 | 21 |
| FY2019 | 195 | 306 | 330 | 171 | 127 | 10 |
| FY2020 | 121 | 153 | 199 | 75 | 59 | 10 |
| FY2021 | 115 | 180 | 244 | 51 | 52 | 13 |
| FY2022 | 121 | 216 | 274 | 64 | 36 | 14 |
| FY2023 | 124 | 187 | 236 | 76 | 46 | 14 |
| FY2024 | 138 | 198 | 196 | 141 | 52 | 3 |
| FY2025 | 121 | 155 | 164 | 113 | 9 | 8 |
| FY2026 | 126 | 179 | 169 | 135 | 5 | 10 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.