Financial Management for Entrepreneurs€¦ · Chapter 7 Leverage and Capital Structure. INTRODUCTION •Leverage, as a business term, refers to debt or to the borrowing of funds

Chapter 7

Leverage and

Capital Structure

INTRODUCTION

• Leverage, as a business term, refers to

debt or to the borrowing of funds to

finance the purchase of a company's

assets. Business owners can use either

debt or equity to finance or buy the

company's assets.

• Using debt, or leverage, increases the

company's risk of bankruptcy.

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It also increases the company's returns;

specifically its return on equity. This is true

because, if debt financing is used rather

than equity financing, then the owner's

equity is not diluted by issuing more shares

of stock.


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Leverage

• Leverage results from the use of fixed-cost assets or

funds to magnify returns to the firm’s owners.

• Generally, increases in leverage result in increases in

risk and return, whereas decreases in leverage result

in decreases in risk and return.

• The amount of leverage in the firm’s capital structure—

the mix of debt and equity—can significantly affect its

value by affecting risk and return.


Leverage (cont.)


Breakeven Analysis

• Breakeven (cost-volume-profit) analysis is used to:– determine the level of operations necessary to cover

all operating costs, and

– evaluate the profitability associated with various levels of sales.

• The firm’s operating breakeven point (OBP) is the level of sales necessary to cover all operating expenses.

• At the OBP, operating profit (EBIT) is equal to zero.


Breakeven Analysis (cont.)

• To calculate the OBP, cost of goods sold and operating

expenses must be categorized as fixed or variable.

• Variable costs vary directly with the level of sales and

are a function of volume, not time.

• Examples would include direct labor and shipping.

• Fixed costs are a function of time and do not vary with

sales volume.

• Examples would include rent and fixed overhead.

OPERATING LEVERAGE

Operating leverage can be defined as the

potential use of fixed operating costs to

magnify the effects of changes in sales on

the firm’s earnings before interest and

taxes.



Operating Leverage (cont.)


Operating Leverage: Measuring the

Degree of Operating Leverage

• The degree of operating leverage (DOL) measures the sensitivity of changes in EBIT to changes in Sales.

• A company’s DOL can be calculated in two different ways: One calculation will give you a point estimate, the other will yield an interval estimate of DOL.

• Only companies that use fixed costs in the production process will experience operating leverage.


DOL = Percentage change in EBIT

Percentage change in Sales

Case 1: DOL = (+100% ÷ +50%) = 2.0

Case 2: DOL = (-100% ÷ -50%) = 2.0

Operating Leverage: Measuring the

Degree of Operating Leverage (cont)

• Applying this equation to cases 1 and 2 in

Table 12.4 yields:


Financial Leverage

• Financial leverage results from the presence of fixed

financial costs in the firm’s income stream.

• Financial leverage can therefore be defined as the

potential use of fixed financial costs to magnify the

effects of changes in EBIT on the firm’s EPS.

• The two fixed financial costs most commonly found on

the firm’s income statement are (1) interest on debt and

(2) preferred stock dividends.


Chen Foods, a small Oriental food company, expects EBIT of

$10,000 in the current year. It has a $20,000 bond with a

10% annual coupon rate and an issue of 600 shares of $4

annual dividend preferred stock. It also has 1,000 share of

common stock outstanding.

The annual interest on the bond issue is $2,000 (10% x

$20,000). The annual dividends on the preferred stock are

$2,400 ($4/share x 600 shares).

Financial Leverage (cont.)


Financial Leverage (cont.)


Financial Leverage: Measuring the

Degree of Financial Leverage

• The degree of financial leverage (DFL) measures the sensitivity of changes in EPS to changes in EBIT.

• Like the DOL, DFL can be calculated in two different ways: One calculation will give you a point estimate, the other will yield an interval estimate of DFL.

• Only companies that use debt or other forms of fixed cost financing (like preferred stock) will experience financial leverage.


DFL = Percentage change in EPS

Percentage change in EBIT

Case 1: DFL = (+100% ÷ +40%) = 2.5

Case 2: DFL = (-100% ÷ -40%) = 2.5

• Applying this equation to cases 1 and 2 in

Table 12.6 yields:

Financial Leverage: Measuring the

Degree of Financial Leverage (cont)


Total Leverage

• Total leverage results from the combined effect of using fixed costs, both operating and financial, to magnify the effect of changes in sales on the firm’s earnings per share.

• Total leverage can therefore be viewed as the total impact of the fixed costs in the firm’s operating and financial structure.


Cables Inc., a computer cable manufacturer, expects sales of

20,000 units at $5 per unit in the coming year and must meet

the following obligations: variable operating costs of $2 per

unit, fixed operating costs of $10,000, interest of $20,000,

and preferred stock dividends of $12,000. The firm is in the

40% tax bracket and has 5,000 shares of common stock

outstanding. Table 12.7 on the following slide summarizes

these figures.

Total Leverage (cont.)


Total Leverage (cont.)


DTL = DOL x DFL

The relationship between the DTL, DOL, and DFL is

illustrated in the following equation:

Total Leverage: The Relationship of

Operating, Financial and Total Leverage


The Firm’s Capital Structure

• Capital structure is one of the most complex areas of financial decision making due to its interrelationship with other financial decision variables.

• Poor capital structure decisions can result in a high cost of capital, thereby lowering project NPVs and making them more unacceptable.

• Effective decisions can lower the cost of capital, resulting in higher NPVs and more acceptable projects, thereby increasing the value of the firm.

In simple terms it can be stated that,

minimising the weighted average cost of

capital allows management to undertake a

large number of profitable projects, thereby

further increasing the value of the firm.


Financial Management for Entrepreneurs€¦ · Chapter 7 Leverage and Capital Structure. INTRODUCTION •Leverage, as a business term, refers to debt or to the borrowing of funds

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