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 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2016 | 64 | 84 | 104 | 44 | 15 | — |
| FY2017 | 73 | 71 | 108 | 37 | 10 | 15 |
| FY2018 | 69 | 78 | 103 | 44 | 17 | 15 |
| FY2019 | 62 | 66 | 97 | 31 | 9 | 16 |
| FY2020 | 65 | 81 | 99 | 46 | 2 | 8 |
| FY2021 | 112 | 119 | 195 | 36 | 5 | 4 |
| FY2022 | 82 | 101 | 136 | 46 | -3 | 11 |
| FY2023 | 60 | 95 | 124 | 31 | -13 | 11 |
| FY2024 | 53 | 89 | 121 | 21 | -8 | 12 |
| FY2025 | 62 | 85 | 135 | 12 | -11 | 16 |
| FY2026 | 55 | 73 | 131 | -3 | -18 | 19 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.