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 | 87 | 244 | 107 | 224 | 43 | 11 |
| FY2016 | 88 | 294 | 98 | 285 | 58 | 12 |
| FY2017 | 50 | 329 | 122 | 258 | 55 | 22 |
| FY2018 | 85 | 411 | 154 | 342 | 121 | 9 |
| FY2019 | 99 | 397 | 207 | 288 | 68 | 7 |
| FY2020 | 86 | 396 | 179 | 303 | 216 | -3 |
| FY2021 | 46 | 263 | 35 | 274 | 77 | -1 |
| FY2022 | 134 | 573 | 100 | 607 | 195 | -3 |
| FY2023 | 145 | 216 | 74 | 286 | -15 | -52 |
| FY2024 | 203 | 327 | 225 | 305 | -171 | -11 |
| FY2025 | 233 | 358 | 240 | 351 | -255 | -8 |
| FY2026 | 236 | 63 | 263 | 36 | -1,468 | -65 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.