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 | 51 | 194 | 40 | 204 | 54 | 6 |
| FY2016 | 55 | 219 | 38 | 236 | 69 | 5 |
| FY2017 | 43 | 226 | 48 | 221 | 54 | 2 |
| FY2018 | 46 | 246 | 52 | 240 | 25 | 1 |
| FY2019 | 43 | 286 | 72 | 257 | -1 | 1 |
| FY2020 | 33 | 296 | 77 | 252 | 73 | 2 |
| FY2021 | 21 | 129 | 76 | 74 | 71 | 8 |
| FY2022 | 24 | 118 | 47 | 95 | 82 | 8 |
| FY2023 | 51 | 132 | 56 | 127 | 109 | 8 |
| FY2024 | 49 | 125 | 55 | 120 | 118 | 9 |
| FY2025 | 64 | 97 | 89 | 72 | 86 | 11 |
| FY2026 | 49 | 122 | 107 | 64 | 97 | 22 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.