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 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2011 | 50 | 94 | 121 | 23 | 49 | — |
| FY2012 | 52 | 102 | 112 | 42 | 62 | 12 |
| FY2013 | 60 | — | — | 60 | 50 | 10 |
| FY2018 | 70 | 70 | 113 | 27 | 27 | — |
| FY2019 | 73 | 51 | 74 | 50 | 40 | 12 |
| FY2020 | 62 | 88 | 74 | 76 | 52 | 5 |
| FY2021 | 74 | 122 | 114 | 82 | 65 | 4 |
| FY2022 | 64 | 49 | 91 | 22 | 42 | -9 |
| FY2023 | 76 | 128 | 214 | -10 | 45 | 10 |
| FY2024 | 54 | 116 | 183 | -13 | 14 | 13 |
| FY2025 | 56 | 68 | 174 | -49 | 52 | 13 |
| FY2026 | 83 | 47 | 119 | 10 | 57 | 2 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.