Financial Ratios.

Financial Ratios

Financial ratios are useful indicators of a firm's performance and financial situation. Most ratios can be calculated from information provided by the financial statements. Financial ratios can be used to analyze trends and to compare the firm's financials to those of other firms. In some cases, ratio analysis can predict future bankruptcy.

Financial ratios can be classified according to the information they provide. The following types of ratios frequently are used:

• Liquidity ratios

• Asset turnover ratios

• Financial leverage ratios

• Profitability ratios

• Dividend policy ratios

Liquidity Ratios

Liquidity ratios provide information about a firm's ability to meet its short-term financial obligations. They are of particular interest to those extending short-term credit to the firm. Two frequently-used liquidity ratios are the current ratio (or working capital ratio) and the quick ratio.

The current ratio is the ratio of current assets to current liabilities:

Current Ratio = Current Assets

Current Liabilities

Short-term creditors prefer a high current ratio since it reduces their risk. Shareholders may prefer a lower current ratio so that more of the firm's assets are working to grow the business. Typical values for the current ratio vary by firm and industry. For example, firms in cyclical industries may maintain a higher current ratio in order to remain solvent during downturns.

One drawback of the current ratio is that inventory may include many items that are difficult to liquidate quickly and that have uncertain liquidation values. The quick ratio is an alternative measure of liquidity that does not include inventory in the current assets. The quick ratio is defined as follows:

Quick Ratio = Current Assets - Inventory

Current Liabilities

The current assets used in the quick ratio are cash, accounts receivable, and notes receivable. These assets essentially are current assets less inventory. The quick ratio often is referred to as the acid test.

Finally, the cash ratio is the most conservative liquidity ratio. It excludes all current assets except the most liquid: cash and cash equivalents. The cash ratio is defined as follows:

Cash Ratio = Cash + Marketable Securities

Current Liabilities

The cash ratio is an indication of the firm's ability to pay off its current liabilities if for some reason immediate payment were demanded.

Asset Turnover Ratios

Asset turnover ratios indicate of how efficiently the firm utilizes its assets. They sometimes are referred to as efficiency ratios, asset utilization ratios, or asset management ratios. Two commonly used asset turnover ratios are receivables turnover and inventory turnover.

Receivables turnover is an indication of how quickly the firm collects its accounts receivables and is defined as follows:

Receivables Turnover = Annual Credit Sales

Accounts Receivable

The receivables turnover often is reported in terms of the number of days that credit sales remain in accounts receivable before they are collected. This number is known as the collection period. It is the accounts receivable balance divided by the average daily credit sales, calculated as follows:

Average Collection Period = Accounts Receivable

Annual Credit Sales / 365

The collection period also can be written as:

Average Collection Period = 365

Receivables Turnover

Another major asset turnover ratio is inventory turnover. It is the cost of goods sold in a time period divided by the average inventory level during that period:

Inventory Turnover = Cost of Goods Sold

Average Inventory

The inventory turnover often is reported as the inventory period, which is the number of days worth of inventory

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