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Leverage Ratio

It is no secret that all businesses require capital to function. For some organisations, the entire capital requirement is met by the promoters and shareholders but for others, some of the capital requirement is fulfilled by raising debt. Using debt as a source of capital has a drastic impact on the financial metrics of an organisation, and it is important to understand the degree and diversity of said impact. This is where leverage ratios come into the picture. 

Leverage ratios are utilised to determine the relative position of an organisation's debt and other financial metrics, for instance, equity, total assets, and capital. Through these ratios, critical insights can be attained into an organisation’s dependence on debt, effective utilisation of debt, and, most importantly, its ability to meet its long term financial obligations. In this article, we shall discuss what is a leverage ratio, types of leverage ratios, computation of prominent leverage ratios, and the role of these ratios in the financial analysis for a company.

What is Leverage Ratio? 

Let us begin by discussing what is a leverage ratio. As their name suggests, leverage ratios are used to calculate a business entity’s leverage, that is, its ability to use debt capital to enhance its overall profitability. In addition to this, leverage ratios indicate the relative proportion of debt and equity in an organisation’s capital, percentage of total assets financed by debt, and the organisation’s ability to honour its long term financial liabilities.

Let us understand how a company can use debt to attain financial leverage. Let's say company A purchases machinery costing ₹1 crore at a debt of 15% per annum. By using the new machinery, the company is able to enhance its output, revenue, and, in turn, profit, and 20% of the machinery’s cost is recovered that way. In such a case, the company has deployed debt capital to increase its overall revenue and profit (since the financial benefit from the debt outweighs the cost of servicing the debt). Understanding financial leverage and effectively deploying it is instrumental to the workings of most modern-day businesses.

Financial leverage can be achieved by a business in several ways, prominent amongst which are:

  • Borrowing funds in the form of cash on the basics of its market standing and credit worthiness 

  • Purchasing fixed assets by way of debt financing (also termed as asset based lending from the perspective of the lender)

  • Using debt to finance the cost of an acquisition 

  • Increasing the fixed cost for the business, thereby generating high operating leverage (ratio of fixed cost to variable cost)

Prominent types of Leverage Ratios and their computation 

Now that we have discussed what is a leverage ratio, let us delve into the types of leverage ratios. As stated earlier, leverage ratios measure the quantum of an organisation’s debt relative to other items in its balance sheet, cash flow statement, and profit and loss account. Some prominent leverage ratios are 

  • Debt to Equity Ratio: This ratio is a measure of the relative quantum of debt capital and equity capital in an entity’s total capital.

  • Debt to Capital Ratio: This ratio is used to determine the quantum of debt capital in an entity’s total capital.

  • Debt to Total Assets Ratio: This ratio is a gauge of the degree to which the assets of an entity are financed by debt capital.

  • Debt to EBITDA Ratio: This ratio is used to assess the relative quantum of debt and EBITDA (Earnings before Interest, Tax, Depreciation, and Amortization) in an organisation’s balance sheet. It signifies the number of years in which the same level of profit can be used to repay the debt of the entity.

  • Assets to Equity Ratio: This ratio is a measure of the quantum of assets financed by equity capital.

Let us now discuss three of the most prominent leverage ratios in detail.

Debt to Equity Ratio 

As its name suggests, debt to equity ratio is a measure of the relative proportion of debt capital (borrowed funds) and equity capital (promoters and shareholders’ funds) in the total capital of an organisation. The formula for the calculation of debt to equity ratio is as following 

Debt to Equity Ratio = Total debt / Total equity 

If an organisation has a total debt of, say, ₹1 crore and total equity capital of ₹2 crore, then its debt to equity ratio is 0.5. This ratio is one of the most used and reliable markers of a company's leverage and its reliance on debt capital. Since the proportion of debt and equity in a company's total capital can vary depending on a wide array of factors, including the sector, scale, market standing, availability and cost of debt capital, and desired risk tolerance, the debt to equity ratio can be significantly different for various businesses. The ideal debt to equity ratio is between 0.5 and 1.5. 

While underutilisation of debt can lead to a company not harnessing its leverage potential, overreliance on debt can result in excessive reliance on external funds and a high debt service cost. Therefore, it is important for businesses to attain (and maintain) an optimal debt to equity ratio (as per their sector, scale, life stage, etc.).

Debt to Assets Ratio 

Another key leverage ratio is debt to assets ratio. As the name suggests, this ratio measures the relative proportion of debt and assets in an entity's balance sheet. Debt to Assets Ratio is a barometer of the extent to which an organisation's assets are financed by external capital. Here is the formula used to arrive at this ratio.

Debt to Assets Ratio = Total debt / Total Assets 

If a company has a total debt of, say, ₹2 crore and total assets amounting to ₹5 crore, then its debt to assets ratio is 0.4. A high debt to assets ratio indicates high leverage and a company's reliance on debt capital to finance its total assets. If this ratio is very high, a company may be too reliant on debt. A low ratio, on the other hand, indicates low leverage and potential underutilisation of debt.

Interest Coverage Ratio 

Interest coverage ratio is used to measure an organisation's ability to honour its interest obligations using its earnings. This ratio shows the proportion between a company's Earnings before Interest and Tax (EBIT) and its total interest liability. Here is the formula used to compute Interest coverage ratio.

Interest Coverage Ratio = Earnings before Interest and Tax / Interest on total debt 

If the total Earnings before Interest and Tax (EBIT) for a company are ₹2 crore and its interest obligation is ₹50 lakhs, then its Interest Coverage Ratio is 4. The higher an entity's Interest Coverage Ratio, the higher is its capacity to honour its debt cost (that is, interest) through its earnings. Interest Coverage Ratio higher than 1.5 indicates a company's financial strength to service its debt using its EBIT.

How to Calculate Leverage Ratios 

The following table highlights how to calculate some widely used leverage ratios.

Leverage ratio

Formula 

Debt to Equity Ratio 

Total debt / Total equity 

Debt to Assets Ratio 

Total debt / Total assets 

Debt to EBITDA Ratio 

Total debt/ Earnings before Interest, Tax, Depreciation, and Amortization 

Debt to Capital Ratio 

Total debt / Total capital (where total capital is total debt plus total equity)

Assets to Equity Ratio 

Total assets / Total equity 

Interest Coverage Ratio 

Earnings before Interest and Tax/ Total interest on debt 

Degree of financial leverage 

Change in earnings per share / Change in Earnings before Interest and Tax 

Importance of Leverage Ratios in Financial Analysis 

Leverage ratios serve an important role in analysing the financial strength of an organisation and its long term solvency. While Debt to Equity ratio indicates the relative proportion of debt and equity in the capital of a company, Interest Coverage Ratio is a gauge of an entity's capacity to discharge its interest obligations using its profits. These ratios can help existing and potential stakeholders in determining the present financial strength and future prospects of an entity.

The leverage ratios for an organisation should always be interpreted in the context of the industry it operates in, its scale of operation, the life stage it is in, and its ability to obtain debt capital. Leveraging debt capital to increase overall profitability is a tool used by many modern-day businesses. However, it is critical to avoid over reliance on debt and falling in the trap of excessive leverage. 

Additional read: Ratio Analysis

Advantages and Disadvantages of High Leverage 

The application of debt capital to attain financial leverage in a business has no dearth of pros and cons; let us briefly discuss some of these.

Key advantages of high leverage 

Some of the main advantages of having high leverage in a business are as follows 

  • Low cost of debt capital resulting in higher overall profitability 

  • Access to capital without diluting equity 

  • High flexibility to finance short term requirements and strategic outlay such as acquisitions 

Key disadvantages of high leverage 

Some of the prominent disadvantages of high leverage in a business are as follows 

  • Excessive reliance on external capital 

  • Potential of the cost of debt exceeding overall revenue and profit 

  • Risk of inability to honour interest obligations 

How to Manage Financial Leverage 

Due to the complexity of the construct and workings of financial leverage, it can be difficult for a business to attain the optimal leverage. It is important neither to underutilise debt capital nor to excessively rely on it. The usage of external funds can be instrumental to the reduction of overall cost and a rise in net profit, earnings per share, and return on equity. On the other hand, excessive usage of debt can result in long term solvency predicaments. 

Therefore, an organisation must ascertain how much debt to incorporate in its capital and constantly reassess this quantum in line with the other important financial metrics. Periodic computation of leverage ratios and their accurate interpretation can help an organisation correct course and adjust its leverage level.

Conclusion

Leverage ratios are critical to the assessment of an organisation's usage of debt capital, reliance on debt capital, and ability to honour financial obligations. It is pivotal to interpret leverage ratios in the context of the sector, operational scale, risk tolerance, life stage, and other important metrics pertaining to a specific business. Furthermore, the prevailing economic situations must also be factored in while interpreting leverage ratios and using them to make important decisions.

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This content is for educational purposes only. Securities quoted are exemplary and not recommendatory.

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