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 | 31 | 158 | 99 | 90 | -12 | 24 |
| FY2016 | 52 | 152 | 91 | 113 | 14 | 27 |
| FY2017 | 53 | 168 | 98 | 122 | 39 | 21 |
| FY2018 | 56 | 172 | 85 | 143 | 47 | 12 |
| FY2019 | 60 | 158 | 83 | 135 | 26 | 11 |
| FY2020 | 59 | 184 | 108 | 135 | 8 | 13 |
| FY2021 | 59 | 180 | 111 | 128 | 29 | 15 |
| FY2022 | 39 | 151 | 71 | 119 | 14 | 14 |
| FY2023 | 43 | 168 | 74 | 137 | 42 | 6 |
| FY2024 | 47 | 158 | 69 | 136 | 40 | 16 |
| FY2025 | 57 | 150 | 77 | 130 | 47 | 14 |
| FY2026 | 51 | 168 | 107 | 113 | 34 | 6 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.