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 | 60 | 250 | 136 | 175 | 14 | 10 |
| FY2016 | 91 | 249 | 144 | 196 | 52 | 7 |
| FY2017 | 94 | 243 | 117 | 220 | 36 | -1 |
| FY2018 | 89 | 174 | 122 | 141 | -56 | -1 |
| FY2019 | 130 | 183 | 187 | 126 | -51 | -1 |
| FY2020 | 159 | 209 | 272 | 97 | -171 | -1 |
| FY2021 | 124 | 256 | 223 | 157 | -133 | -3 |
| FY2022 | 104 | 222 | 265 | 60 | -116 | 1 |
| FY2023 | 110 | 216 | 285 | 41 | -186 | 0 |
| FY2024 | 81 | 201 | 240 | 41 | -163 | -1 |
| FY2025 | 80 | 234 | 191 | 123 | -23 | 4 |
| FY2026 | 64 | 286 | 182 | 168 | 35 | 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.