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 | 46 | 73 | 130 | -12 | 203 | 4 |
| FY2016 | 33 | 86 | 85 | 34 | 192 | 7 |
| FY2017 | 26 | 38 | 61 | 2 | 117 | 8 |
| FY2018 | 24 | 88 | 111 | 1 | 130 | 5 |
| FY2019 | 42 | 60 | 182 | -79 | -12 | 11 |
| FY2020 | 48 | 72 | 161 | -41 | -42 | 7 |
| FY2021 | 68 | 100 | 196 | -28 | -18 | 9 |
| FY2022 | 44 | 66 | 176 | -66 | -49 | 4 |
| FY2023 | 37 | 60 | 140 | -43 | -22 | 12 |
| FY2024 | 26 | 89 | 109 | 5 | -2 | 16 |
| FY2025 | 38 | 95 | 148 | -16 | -7 | 16 |
| FY2026 | 37 | 79 | 159 | -44 | 4 | 14 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.