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 | 68 | 154 | 144 | 77 | 56 | 18 |
| FY2016 | 85 | 152 | 154 | 83 | 74 | 16 |
| FY2017 | 77 | 145 | 97 | 124 | 79 | 16 |
| FY2018 | 91 | 153 | 139 | 105 | 71 | 16 |
| FY2019 | 68 | 165 | 163 | 70 | 35 | 18 |
| FY2020 | 66 | 207 | 162 | 111 | 44 | 10 |
| FY2021 | 97 | 181 | 181 | 97 | 75 | 11 |
| FY2022 | 70 | 165 | 135 | 100 | 52 | 23 |
| FY2023 | 70 | 175 | 121 | 124 | 79 | 29 |
| FY2024 | 86 | 160 | 112 | 134 | 85 | 25 |
| FY2025 | 107 | 162 | 134 | 135 | 92 | 20 |
| FY2026 | 84 | 220 | 136 | 168 | 102 | 8 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.