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 | 40 | 169 | 78 | 131 | 35 | 5 |
| FY2016 | 32 | 185 | 78 | 140 | 14 | -1 |
| FY2017 | 29 | 221 | 92 | 159 | 60 | -2 |
| FY2018 | 45 | 291 | 136 | 200 | 81 | -6 |
| FY2019 | 39 | 428 | 108 | 359 | 106 | -4 |
| FY2020 | 33 | 471 | 120 | 384 | 98 | -4 |
| FY2021 | 65 | 648 | 196 | 517 | 185 | -5 |
| FY2022 | 62 | 456 | 187 | 331 | 93 | -3 |
| FY2023 | 52 | 273 | 107 | 217 | 83 | -4 |
| FY2024 | 53 | 353 | 202 | 204 | 48 | -8 |
| FY2025 | 43 | 320 | 187 | 176 | 30 | -8 |
| FY2026 | 43 | 368 | 240 | 170 | 12 | -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.