In: Finance
Last year Swensen Corp. had sales of $303,225, operating costs of $267,500, and year-end assets of $195,000. The debt-to-total-assets ratio was 27%, the interest rate on the debt was 8.2%, and the firm's tax rate was 25%. The new CFO wants to see how the ROE would have been affected if the firm had used a 45% debt ratio. Assume that sales and total assets would not be affected, and that the interest rate and tax rate would both remain constant. By how much would the ROE change in response to the change in the capital structure?
Year-end Total assets = $195,000 Debt-to-total-assets ratio = 27%
Interest rate on the debt = 8.2% Firm's tax rate = 25%
Debt-to-total-assets ratio = Total Debt / Total Assets
27% = Total Debt / $195,000
Total Debt = 0.27 x $195,000 = $52,650
Total Equity = Total Assets - Total Debt = $195,000 - $52,650 = $142,350
Current ROE is:
Sales = $303,225 Operating costs = $267,500
Operating income = Sales - Operating costs = $303,225 - $267,500 = $35,725
Interest Expense = 8.2% of $52,650 = 0.082 x $52,650 = $4,317.3
Earnings Before Tax = Operating income - Interest Expense = $35,725 - $4,317.3 = $31407.7
Earnings After Tax = Earnings Before Tax x (1 - Tax Rate) = $31407.7 x ( 1-0.25) = $31407.7 x 0.75
Earnings After Tax = $23,555.775
Return on Equity (ROE) = Earnings After Tax / Total Equity = $23,555.775 / $142,350 = 0.1655 = 16.55%
Current ROE is 16.55%
Now, ROE when debt ratio is 45%
Debt-to-total-assets ratio = Total Debt / Total Assets
45% = Total Debt / $195,000
Total Debt = 0.45 x $195,000 = $87,750
Total Equity = Total Assets - Total Debt = $195,000 - $87,750 = $107,250
Sales = $303,225 Operating costs = $267,500
Operating income = Sales - Operating costs = $303,225 - $267,500 = $35,725
Interest Expense = 8.2% of $87,750 = 0.082 x $87,750 = $7,195.5
Earnings Before Tax = Operating income - Interest Expense = $35,725 - $7,195.5 = $28,529.5
Earnings After Tax = Earnings Before Tax x (1 - Tax Rate) = $28,529.5 x ( 1-0.25) = $28,529.5 x 0.75
Earnings After Tax = $21,397.125
Expected ROE = Return on Equity (ROE) = Earnings After Tax / Total Equity = $21,397.125 / $107,250 = 0.1995
Expected ROE= 19.95%
Change in ROE in response to the change in the capital structure = Expected ROE - Current ROE = 19.95% - 16.55%
Change in ROE in response to the change in the capital structure = 3.40%