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 | 62 | 266 | 283 | 45 | 41 | 30 |
| FY2016 | 67 | 304 | 400 | -29 | 56 | 31 |
| FY2017 | 64 | — | — | 64 | 49 | 24 |
| FY2018 | 75 | — | — | 75 | 70 | 23 |
| FY2019 | 81 | — | — | 81 | 57 | 23 |
| FY2020 | 58 | — | — | 58 | 20 | 18 |
| FY2021 | 57 | — | — | 57 | 19 | 21 |
| FY2022 | 69 | — | — | 69 | 36 | 21 |
| FY2023 | 55 | — | — | 55 | 21 | 15 |
| FY2024 | 55 | — | — | 55 | 27 | 25 |
| FY2025 | 55 | — | — | 55 | 30 | 21 |
| FY2026 | 59 | — | — | 59 | 20 | 23 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.