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 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2018 | 69 | 54 | 130 | -7 | -30 | — |
| FY2019 | 73 | 36 | 110 | -1 | -12 | 15 |
| FY2020 | 71 | 85 | 143 | 13 | 2 | 12 |
| FY2021 | 68 | 55 | 53 | 70 | 40 | 19 |
| FY2022 | 87 | 71 | 76 | 81 | 85 | 15 |
| FY2023 | 83 | 84 | 98 | 69 | 71 | 14 |
| FY2024 | 79 | 57 | 121 | 15 | 32 | 18 |
| FY2025 | 80 | 63 | 129 | 14 | 17 | 17 |
| FY2026 | 92 | 40 | 156 | -24 | 14 | 16 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.