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 | 39 | 378 | 397 | 20 | -79 | 6 |
| FY2016 | 55 | 241 | 288 | 7 | -96 | 1 |
| FY2017 | 64 | 261 | 362 | -37 | -138 | 3 |
| FY2018 | 119 | 350 | 561 | -92 | -288 | -4 |
| FY2019 | 48 | 156 | 78 | 126 | -106 | -1 |
| FY2020 | 51 | 183 | 108 | 126 | 56 | 7 |
| FY2021 | 57 | 209 | 113 | 153 | 78 | 13 |
| FY2022 | 56 | 196 | 72 | 180 | 98 | 18 |
| FY2023 | 56 | 180 | 60 | 175 | 98 | 21 |
| FY2024 | 61 | 199 | 56 | 204 | 114 | 22 |
| FY2025 | 55 | 205 | 56 | 205 | 107 | 19 |
| FY2026 | 64 | 187 | 61 | 190 | 109 | 19 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.