Cost of Capital
Introduction
This paper examines key elements of a cost of capital policy to facilitate objective management and allocation of corporate funds. In order for a company to make long-term investments to grow, whether that is new equipment, new products or other assets, managers must be aware of the cost of acquiring any of these assets. The obvious objective for these managers is to earn more than the cost of capital and in doing so will increase their company’s market value. If they fail to adequately estimate their cost of capital and their long-term investments fall beneath the cost of capital, their company’s market value will decline as a result. This ongoing battle of managing and calculating the cost of capital and
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The greater predictability of the dividend policy normally signals a lower risk factor associated with the company which in turn lowers the overall WACC resulting in lower cost of capital. If the company is erratic on how they payout their dividends, they could face an adverse reaction to risk which would raise their WACC and cost on capital.
The last factor that is discussed under a controllable situation is investment policy. When company is consistent in their investment decisions, it is assumed that they are all relatively similar in degree of risk. However, when companies change their investment policy with either less or more risky investments the cost of debt and equity change accordingly. Managers need to take this into account when looking at the overall cost associated capital ensuring that the company is not paying more than what is necessary. Uncontrollable:
While managers can control some factors relating to the cost of capital the two more prominent factors that are uncontrollable are the levels of interest rates and the tax rates. When interest rates increase it affects the economy as a whole and increases the cost of debt, which increases the cost of capital. The tax rates on the other hand affect the after-tax cost of debt. As these rates increase, the cost of debt decreases and brings down the cost of capital. Managers are aware of
Barb Williams and Rick Thomas, while attending an executive education course at a well-known business school, came across a case which involved calculating the cost of capital for Telus Corporation (Telus). Basic data such as the Balance Sheet, Income Statement, Data on Telus’ Common Stock, Market Index, and the Average Annual Returns in North American Capital Markets were provided. In order to calculate Telus’ cost of capital we need to calculate the company’s Cost of Equity, Cost of Debt, and Tax Rate along with their weighted cost and then apply these to the Weighted
The mixture of debt-equity mix is important so as to maximize the stock price of the Costco. However, it will be significant to consider the Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) as well so that it can evaluate the company targeted capital structure. Cost of capital (OC) may be used by the companies as for long term decision making, so industries that faced to take the important of Cost of capital seriously may not make the right choice by choosing the right project(Gitman’s, ).
In practice, the factors affecting cost of capital include capital structure policy, dividend policy, investment policy, level of interest rates and tax rates.
• Cost of capital must reflect current capital market conditions (current required returns) • Cost of capital must also reflect the optimal relative proportions of debt and equity the firm will
Medical technology is advancing rapidly with each passing minute. It is becoming more urgent for health care facilities to invest in equipment that is current and state of the art. Behind these advancements are proven statistics that certain equipment is a necessity when diagnosing and treating patients. We, as health care workers, owe it to our patients to have the best possible equipment in our facilities. Aside from non-melanoma skin cancer, breast cancer has become the most common cancer among women in the United States. Breast cancer does not discriminate. It is one of the
The senior management of Company A employ you to advise them on the cost of capital the company should use to calculate net present value and decide whether or not to undertake a new investment project. You may assume that the new project is comparable to the average of the company’s existing projects in all respects.
Virtually all general managers face capital-budgeting decisions in the course of their careers. Among the most common of these is the either/or choice about a capital investment. The following describes some general guidelines to orient the decision-maker in these situations.
Our analysis attempts to answer the question, “What are the things a company must consider when analyzing a new investment or project?” According to the text, a firm’s first objective when deciding to take on new debt should be that its return on net assets (RONA) should be greater than its weighted average cost of capital (WACC). Since we are working with an income statement only and do not have an amount for net assets, we will instead use return on invested capital (ROIC), which measures how well a company is using its money to generate returns. Comparing a company 's return on capital (ROIC) with its cost of capital (WACC) reveals whether invested capital was used effectively. From our spreadsheet calculations we see that using our estimated operating profit provides us with a 19.9% return on invested capital with only a 7.2% weighted average cost for that same capital. If these numbers are even close to correct, George should definitely make the move.
This step involves short and long term debt equity analysis. The proportion of equity capital depends on the possessing and additional funds will be raised. The choice of the source of funds the company has are the issue of shares and debentures, loans to be taken from banks and financial institutions and public deposits to be drawn in form of bonds. The choice will depend on relative merits and demerits of each source and period of financing. The management of the investment funds is key in allocating that the funds are going in the correct place. The profits that are made can be down in two ways dividend declaration which includes identifying the rate of dividends and retained profits in which the volume has to be decided which will depend upon expansion and diversification of the company. The management of cash is another important function. Cash is needed for all different aspects of the company such as payment of salaries, overhead and bills. All of these are important in a company and how successful the financial aspect is going to be.The financial management practices include capital structure decision, investment appraisal techniques, dividend policy, working capital management and financial performance assessment. A company needs to have well financial in order to be successful. “A company that sells well but has poor financial management can fail.” (Johnston)
On the other hand, more debt does not affect the risk of the project under taken, but means less equity holders , these bring more risk to equity holders, the cost of equity increases with debt. assume Ra is the WACC without leverage.
Based on the financing needs, as above dividends would be additional stretch on company finances
EnCana Corporation (EnCana) is one of North America’s leading natural gas producers. It is among the largest holders of natural gas and oil resource lands onshore North America and is a technical and cost leader in the in-situ recovery of oil sands bitumen. EnCana’s other operations include the transportation and marketing of crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids; as well as the refining of crude oil and the marketing of refined petroleum products. Its operations are located in Canada, the US, Ecuador, and the UK.
is not this kind of companies. If we want to use the data of dividends, we need to consider the growth rate and future potential changes of dividend. In a word, we don’t think DDM is fit for Nike’s case.
This case study focuses on where financial theory ends and practical application of the weighted average cost of capital (WACC) begins. It presents evidence on how some of the most financially complex companies and financial advisors estimated capital costs and focuses on the gaps found between theory and application. The approach taken in the paper differed from their predecessors in several various respects. Prior published information was solely based on written, closed-end surveys sent to a large number of firms, without a focused topic. The study set out to see if financial theory, specifically cost-of-capital, is truly ubiquitous in true business applications.
L1 - Modigliani & Miller (1958) ‘The Cost of Capital, Corporation Finance and the Theory of Investment’