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 | 13 | 187 | 61 | 139 | 31 | 35 |
| FY2016 | 19 | 277 | 99 | 197 | 45 | 11 |
| FY2017 | 24 | 221 | 83 | 162 | 49 | 15 |
| FY2018 | 30 | 227 | 66 | 191 | 72 | 23 |
| FY2019 | 24 | 239 | 74 | 189 | 62 | 27 |
| FY2020 | 25 | 220 | 75 | 170 | 59 | 30 |
| FY2021 | 24 | 180 | 65 | 139 | 42 | 36 |
| FY2022 | 31 | 231 | 104 | 158 | 58 | 21 |
| FY2023 | 33 | 238 | 95 | 176 | 59 | 11 |
| FY2024 | 38 | 202 | 76 | 164 | 55 | 14 |
| FY2025 | 35 | 219 | 73 | 181 | 60 | 14 |
| FY2026 | 34 | 232 | 77 | 189 | 68 | 16 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.