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 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2020 | 72 | 79 | 47 | 104 | 97 | — |
| FY2021 | 106 | 115 | 63 | 158 | 138 | 24 |
| FY2022 | 104 | 75 | 46 | 132 | 137 | 27 |
| FY2023 | 82 | 79 | 41 | 120 | 109 | 28 |
| FY2024 | 102 | 72 | 36 | 137 | 141 | 19 |
| FY2025 | 96 | 68 | 45 | 118 | 115 | 20 |
| FY2026 | 85 | 110 | 43 | 152 | 130 | 20 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.