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 | 44 | 200 | 23 | 221 | 68 | 11 |
| FY2016 | 49 | 249 | 23 | 274 | 62 | 14 |
| FY2017 | 44 | 218 | 31 | 232 | 47 | 15 |
| FY2018 | 44 | 242 | 31 | 255 | 106 | 11 |
| FY2019 | 43 | 265 | 32 | 276 | 116 | 14 |
| FY2020 | 44 | 276 | 37 | 283 | 130 | 10 |
| FY2021 | 62 | 314 | 34 | 342 | 182 | 8 |
| FY2022 | 50 | 231 | 32 | 249 | 121 | 23 |
| FY2023 | 43 | 147 | 22 | 168 | 102 | 11 |
| FY2024 | 47 | 273 | 23 | 296 | 156 | 9 |
| FY2025 | 48 | 254 | 34 | 269 | 164 | 11 |
| FY2026 | 48 | 244 | 33 | 259 | 156 | 9 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.