Financial statement analysis

Question : Discuss about theFinancial Statement Analysis ? Answer : Introduction: Financial Statement Analysis is the process of identifying performance, risks and health of a company by analyzing and evaluating financial statement of the company in order to take economic decisions. Analysis of financial statement, based on the past performance, helps the management to improve performance in present and future. In this report, discuss financial statements of two telecom communications company in Kuwait, which are Ooredooo and Hits Telecom, will be discussed by evaluating trend analysis,cash flow and Z score of both companies. Ooredoo Company is one of famous companies in Kuwait, which operates in the telecommunications sector and was established in year 1999. The company provides mobile and internet service. In addition, Oooredoo has srong brand name in different countries and strives to provide product and service to satisfy all customers. In other side, Hits Telecom is a strong company, which was established in December 1999 and delivers mobile services and inte rnet in order to get profit and provide customer satisfaction.Moreover, it has listed in Kuwait Stock exchange in the year 2004. he objective: The report will evaluate the financial performances of Ooredoo and Hits Telecom from the year 2012 to 2015. Trend Analysis: The average revenue of Hits Telecom is Kuwaiti dinar(KD)107,467,905, which is better than that of Ooredoo, which amounts to KWD 735,138, due to increase in sales by opening new branches. The provision of special services is expected to increase sales in the fixed-line by 12%, increase in broadcasting by 14%, in mobile browsing and free SIM cards for new customers and discount (CEO report and Analysis, page 4, year 2015). The average gross profit of Hits Telecom is KD 7,494,937 and the average gross profit of Ooredoo is KD 519,033.75, which means that Hits Telecome is better than Ooredoo, because, Hits Telecom incurs lower cost of good sold than Ooredoo. Moreover, Hits Telecom has increased its selling price without any increase in the cost of good sold, which has led the company to increase in the total sales volume and, in return, increase the gross profit. In terms of EBIT,Ooredoo is better, because the average EBIT of the company is KD 93036, whereas, Hits Telecom incurs average l oss before interest and taxes of KD-6,316,147. So, Ooredoo has reduced both the cost of goods sold and operation expenses to increase EBIT. It has also increased revenue from available equipment. The average profit for year of Ooredoo is around KD 73,606.75 and average net loss of Hits Telecom is around - KD5,998,290. Hence, Ooredoo is better because, the company has account payables of around KD 3.5 million and accounts receivables of around KD 4.5 million and Hits has incured net loss, because the accounts payable of the company is amounted to 5.5 million and accounts receivable worths around KD 1.9 million. Moreover, Hits Telecom take a long term loan of 3.6 million to make a payment for suppliers, which has caused loss for the company. Moreover, the average earning per share of Ooredoo has generated positive earnings per share, whereas, Hits has provided negative earnings per share. Hence, Ooredoo is better and can generate more profit and attract more investors. On the other ha nd, Hits Telecom owns higher average non current assets of 66876465.75 million, comparing to the average non-current assets of Ooredoo, which amounts to around KD 1197107 millions. It has been occurred as Hits Telecom has acquired Qanawat Telecom company in Saudia Arabia for KD 142731478 million and also investment in Zain Telecom in UAE in the year 2015 (note 10). Figure 1: Revenue and Net Profir of Ooredoo and Hits Telecom company In the financial statement,the average current assets of Hits Telecom is around KD 30186003.25 and of Ooredoo is around KD 321610.5. It implies that Hits Telecom has higher current assets due to higher accounts receivables and others debits balances in the form of acquired commissions of KD 321610.5 thousands and acquired income of KD 1619969 thousand. In addition, Hits Telecom has huge inventory of KD 5213858 million in the current year, which increases the current assets, causing a negative effect. Moreover, the average total assets of Hits Telecom is also higher than Ooredoo because of the acquisition of Qanawat telecom and Zain Company in UAE by Hits Telecom, that has increased the value of total assets (Management Discussion Analysis Page 2, year 2013). Beside this, average total equitys of two company denotes that Hits has higher equity compared to Ooredoo, which means that the company has higher equity to finance its assets and also has an extraordinary General assembly of sha reholder, which has increased the share capital from KD 70235124 to KD 87234161 in year 2015 (Note 15,year 2015). In addition, according to the parent company article association the company has transferred 10% of the net profit to general reserve (note 19,year 2013). On the other hand, non current liability of Ooredoo is less than Hits because Hits telecom had obtained long term loans of KD 1000000 in year 2012 and KD 15000000 in 2014 from Kuwait Bank in order to purchase huge equipment for the company (Note 15,year 2014). Moreover, Ooredoo company has better liquidity to pay the current liabilities. Fuethermore, the average of current liabilities of Hits Telecom is higher than Ooredoo because Hits Telecom has taken short term loans of KD100686285 to pay the suppliers from Kwuiat banks (Note 16,year 2012). The total liability of Hits Telecom, comparing to Ooredoo, can be considered very high as result of short and long loan taken (Management Discussion Analysis Page 3,year 2014). Finally, Hits Telecom is better when comparing the average of current assets with average of current liability because Hits Telecom has higher current asset than current liabilities. In addition, the averages of total assets and total liability of both companies, indicate that Hits Telecome is more sufficient to meet their obligations because it has higher amount of assets more than the liabilities and can easily convert the assets to cash for paying off liabilities. Moreover, Ooredoo has negative working capital and Hits telecom has positive working capital, which means that Hits Te lecom has current assets more than current liabilities and inventory is also higher, which lead to increase the current assets of Hits Telecom. Futhermore, from the comparison of average current asset and current liabilities of Oordeoo and average current assets and current liabilities of Hits Telecom, it is clear both companies have higher current liabilities than current assets, which has caused a negative effect. It denotes that the account payables are more than account receivables and the companies use to held lower cash balance to pay off creditors. Figure 2: Average Current Assets and Current Liabilities of Ooredoo and Hits Telecom Cash Flow analysis: In terms of Cash flow from operating activities: Ooredoo has able to reduce the period of receivables, which has a positive effect on cash and led to pay off suppliers and creditors timely. Whereas, the period of receivebales of Hits Telecom company has increased, which has resulted in non payment of customers or slow payment, delay in issuing invoice and disputed invoices. It has forced the company to take loans for paying off their obligations. In terms of the payables, Ooredoo company has decreased payables due to high working capital and higher receivables. Whereas, Hits Telecom has increased payables due to purchase of network equipments on credit (Management Discussion and Analysis Page 5,year 2014). Cashflow from investment activities: Ooredoo has stable investment from 2012-2015, because, it had invested in local companies and dealt with the government by making long term agreements. Whereas, the investments of Hits Telecom company have increased through investing in various companies in Africa and Saudi Arabia for long term basis and also in fixed assets equipments in order to increase the profitability. However, such huge investments of Hits has reduced the current assets, which has a negative effect. In terms of cash flow financing activities: The cash flow from financing activities has increased for Hits Telecom for the short term loan from the Kuwait Bank with an amount of 1.9 million and the interest by 1.8% per year. Financial expenses of the company have decreased from KD109000 thousand in 2012 to KD 86000 thousands in the year 2015. Whereas, the cash flow from financing activities has decreased for Ooredoo due to long term loan around KD6 million with high interest rate by 3.1 % per year and increase in dividend payment by 6.4 million in year 2015. Finance costs has increased by KD 600 thousands in 2015. Futhermore, the cash equivalents for Oorredoo has decreased from KD 3.3 million in 2012 to KD999 thousands in 2015 because of shortage in cash fundings. Whereas, Hits company faces a small variation from year 2010 to 2015 in this section (Cash flow statement Page 6, year 2015). Figure 3: Cash Flow Average of Ooredoo and Hits Telecom company Z score analysis: The Altman Z Score is used to depict the likelihood that whether an organization will get bankrupted in the next two years. Where Z score is more than 2.99, it means that the business has no possibility to face bankruptcy. The Z Score with less than 1.8 indicates that the business has higher probability of getting bankrupted. However, Z Score within 1.8 2.99 denotes the possibility of business will get bankrupted. By comparing the average Z score of two companies, it is cleared that, Ooredoo has got z score of 1.165, which means that the company will get bankrupted in the future. The Z score of Hits Telecom is 1.35 which indicates that, like Ooredoo, it will be bankrupted within the following years too. The reasons for such bankruptcy probability of both companies are the working capital, which are vey low; lower current asssets than cuurent liabilities and lower total asset less than total liabilities, which have compositely caused negative affect on the performances of both compan ies. Figure 4: Z Score Average of Ooredoo and Hits Telecom company SWOTAnalysis Hits Telecom: Strengths:The company offers low prices for local and international call and incurs lower labor costs. Weakness: Small business units, higher debts and consecutive net losses for the period 2012 to 2015 Opportunities: Increasing demand of the product and providing services and products with lowest price and growth Threats: Strong competition from competitors, like Ooredoo Zain Telecom, rise in the cost of raw materials and changes in regulatory Ooredoo Company: Strength: High market value and strong brand name, which offers 5G for customers. Moreover, it has agreements with 180 countries and provides best internet services. Weaknesses: Lose of customers for fixed line phone service, higher price for services and lower salary of employees. Opportunities: Providing various packages and enhancing customer services to attract new market in other countries and obtain the leadership status in inter services Threats: Growing competition from Hits Telecom new entrants and changes in tax rates. SWOT Analysis of Telecommunication Sector: Strength: Telecommunication sectors have favorable access to distribution networks and has a good reputation among customers along with motivated Weakness: High cost structure, poor reputation, weak brand name and lack of access to distribution channels. Opportunities: Telecommunication sectors have a lot of opportunities in terms of increase in profit, ad growth, the constant customer reuirements for data and new technology of LTE and Fibre. Threats: There are some threats which may be faced by the telecommunications companies due to change in the customers desire about product and services, such as, Whatsapp, Facebook, Twitter, and instagram, as well as, the new entrants and regulation acts Conclusion: At the end of the report, it can be concluded that Ooredoo Company is performing better in terms of financial income, which has helped to generate higher profit in the four years. On the other hand, Hits Telecom has incurred net loss in all the consecutive four years as the result of a huge debt. However, from the comparison of the financial position it can be stated that Ooredoo and Hits Telecom both have negative working capital, where current assets are less than current liabilities and total assets are also less than total liabilities, which have caused the negative effect. Furthermore, both companies are suffering from low liquidity, which has affected the payment of liabilities. Moreover, Z score of both companies is less than 1.81 which means that both companies have possibilities to be bankrupted within next two years. However, it can be stated finally that both the companies are performing well in terms of profitability and expected to survive in long run. References : Boda, M. and radnicek, V., 2016. The portability of altman's Z-score model to predicting corporate financial distress of Slovak companies. Technological and Economic Development of Economy, 22(4), pp. 532-553. DU, N., Stevens, K. and Mcenroe, J., 2015. The effects of comprehensive income on investors' judgments. Accounting Research Journal, 28(3), pp. 284-299. Jeovita, A., 2015. Accounting Information in a Business Decision-Making Process - Evidence from Croatia. Zagreb International Review of Economics Business, 18(1), pp. 61-79. Muthuvelan, M., 2015. A Stuyoncash flowanalysisinm/s. pantloonretail (india) limited. International Journal of Management Research and Reviews, 5(5), pp. 315-320. Financial Statement Analysis Question: Discuss about the Financial Statement Analysis. Answer: Introduction The following report aims to present the financial analysis of a listed company for the financial years 2013, 2014 and 2015 in order to provide useful information. The report is presented on the basis of selected company Walmart, which is a retailing company involved in the departmental and grocery stores. The report highlights the evaluation on companys Directors Report for the reporting financial years. The study also covers the assessment on Quality of Earnings together with the discussion on Earnings Sustainability as well as the cash flow statement of the selected company Walmart. Other than the financial analysis of Walmart, the report provides assessment on the quality of financial credit policy of Walmart for the reporting year 2013- 2015 for providing useful information to the stakeholders and potential investors. In addition, the present report also highlights the comparison based on the financial and non- financial factors considering other stated factors. Background of the company Walmart is a public company founded on 2nd July 1962based on the retailing industry having its headquarter in United States. The organization was founded by Sam Walton serves regions across the world. The company deals in the business of retaining for electronic products, furniture and home appliances, sports equipments and other supplies including grocery and jewelry. Presently, the reported revenue of the company amounts to US$482.13 billion while the operating income amounted to US$24.105 billion as well as the value of total assets amounted to US$199.581 billion (Walmart.com, 2017). It has been noted that the company is considered to be the largest organization in the world in terms of sales revenue. Besides, the company is considered to be the second largest company in United Arab Emirates with a GDP amount of $396 billion. It has been reported that the organization has around 2.2 million number of employees and considered as one of the largest employer based on the private sect or.Currently, the company operates as per four divisions that includeWalmart U.S., international, global ecommerce and Sams Club (Walmart.com, 2017). Evaluation of Directors Report Directors report of the organization provides information on the organizational performance in terms financial factors, compliance of statutory requirements as well as standards of corporate social responsibility. As per the organizational financial report, board of directors includes sixteen members along with the members included in board committee. Considering the financial performance of the year 2015, Walmart experienced net growth of around $64 billion in terms of consolidated sales revenue while 19% growth in the earnings per share in comparison to the previous year 2014 and 2013 (Walmart.com, 2017). During the financial year 2014, Walmart did not incur the profit and sales at the expected level while the company considered priorities with respect to the financial leverage and economic returns. It is observed that the company had been operating in the competitive retail sector that experiences sales competition in terms of discounts, variety in sales departments and supermarke ts. Considering the organizational division, Walmart US generated net sales around $274,433 during the financial year 2013, which was increased to $279,406 in 2014, and 288,049 during the year 2015 (Walmart.com, 2017). Considering the performance of Walmart International division, amount of net sales during the year 2013 was $134,748, which increased to $136,513 during the year 2014 but declined in the financial year 2015 by around 0.3% amounted to $136,160. Similarly, net sales of the division Sams Club increased by 1.9% during the year 2015 whereas the sales increased by 1.6% during the year 2014. Further, the sales revenue from the organizations store and club,which includes sales from e- commerce business reflected growth of around 0.5% during the year 2015 while the same was declined by 0.5% during the year 2014 (Walmart.com, 2017). The directors report also provided the performance of Walmart based on the financial leverage that has been presented by comparing operating expenses as well as incomes. During the financial year 2015, the division of Walmart US generated operating income of around $21 billion, which was declined by 2.1% compared to the income earned during the financial year 2014. It has been noted that the investments of the company resulted in strategic growth during the year 2015, which was lower in the years 2014 and 2013whereas the amount of operating income increased at a higher rate by around 2.3% (Walmart.com, 2017). However, during the financial year 2014, the organization experienced growth in operating cost, which included the cost of medical care, insurance, wages and other litigation costs. On the contrary, directors report presented the organizational performance in terms of operating income, which was increased by 1.0% during the year 2015. The Board of directors of the company conten ded that the increase in sales by lower rate was due to the factor of unleveraged financial expenses. Similarly, organizational investment return reflected the 15.9% during 2013, 16.9% during the year 2014 while 17.0% during the year 2015. Capability of generating income from business operations is well measured by considering free cash flow to measure the liquidity position of the company. Assessment of Quality of Earnings together with the Earnings Sustainability of Walmart Quality of earnings means the value of earnings incurred by the company that is attributed to the amount of higher sales or to the amount of lower costs. Quality of earnings does not consider the factors that determine the simulated profit in terms of inflation for the amount of inventory or inflation in the interest rates that affect the expected return (Weber Wasieleski, 2013). Moreover, during the time of high inflation level in the countrys economy, quality of earnings is regarded as poor that is below average. In case the financial earnings of the company is measured by applying conservative approach then the earnings quality is regarded as higher quality unlike the earnings determined using the accounting policies as aggressive approach. Accordingly, it is essential to understand the companys accounting concepts in the financial report in accordance with the rules of accounting. For this purpose, amount of cash- flow during the financial year, timing and certainty of cash flow in the company along with the resources of generating income (Post Byron, 2015). In case of present company Walmart, it has been noticed that the concept of accounting maintained was conservative approach during the reporting financial years 2013, 2014 and 2015. For the purpose of measuring organizational profitability, Walmart considered financial factors for recognizing the expenses and incomes along with the return on investments. During the year 2013, the company incurred $17 billion, which was declined during the years 2014 as well as 2015. On the contrary, on comparing the incomes during the year 2014 and 2015, Walmart incurred higher income during the year 2015. In order to measure the quality of earnings for the company, reliability feature or relevance feature can be considered in compliance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles and conceptual framework of accounting. Considering the reliability factor for preparing the financial statements, it is essential to recognize the accounting information free from misrepresentation and error (Walmart.com , 2017). Therefore, statement of financial income and financial position of Walmart has been prepared in compliance with the reliable sources as per the requirement of accounting standards and conceptual framework. During the year 2013, total revenue of the company had been measured by considering operating sales and income from membership that was realized while the cost of sales had been recognized by considering conservative approach. In addition, valuation of assets for property and equipment had been determined using fair market value that reflects reliable value essential to determine the financial position. Another feature of measuring quality of earnings is relevance that involves predictive power and timely manner. As per the requirements of accounting framework, the business organization is required to follow accrual system of accounting rather than cash accounting system. Accrual accounting system follows the periodic approach for recognizing accounting information during the financial year; hence it reflects more reliable and reasonable outcome on companys performance (Chun et al., 2013). In case of Walmart, the accounting system has been prepared on the basis of accrual system as the outstanding payments have been recorded as liabilities during each of the financial year. In addition, economic inflation during the year 2013 was higher compared to that of the year 2015 therefore, the quality of earnings reflected better outcome during the year 2015. Besides, earnings sustainability is measured to evaluate the organizational performance for the purpose of investment proposals. Other than the financial ratios on companys profitability, capital employment, assets turnover and sales ratio, determination of earnings sustainability is important for making business decisions. In order to determine the justification of the current price of the companys stocks, sustainability of the profits for different financial years is computed with respect to the sales revenue, cost of sales and other financial factors (Eccles, Ioannou Serafeim, 2014). Therefore, in case of Walmart, essential factor of business expenses includes operating selling and administrative expenses for the financial years. Earnings sustainability Operating selling and administrative expenses 2015 2014 2013 Net sales revenue (a) 4,82,229 4,73,076 4,65,604 Cost of goods sold (b) 3,65,086 3,58,069 3,52,297 Gross profit 1,17,143 1,15,007 1,13,307 Operating selling and administrative expenses (d) 93,418 91,353 88,629 sustainability earning in terms of selling and administrative expenses (d/a) % 19.37 19.31 19.04 (Source: Created by author) In view of the above calculation of earnings sustainability with respect to the expenses on selling and administration, Walmart earned consistent income during the three financial years with the increasing trend. Sales growth 2015 2014 2013 Net sales revenue (a) 4,82,229 4,73,076 4,65,604 Growth rate % 1.93 1.60 5.00 Cost of goods sold (b) 3,65,086 3,58,069 3,52,297 sustainability earning in terms of Cost of goods sold (b/a) % 75.71 75.69 75.66 (Source: Created by author) Sales growth percentage of Walmart reflected highest growth in the financial year 2013 compared to the sales of the year 2012. However, amount of sales revenue has been increasing over the three financial years but the growth rate was lowest during the year 2014 which was 1.60% (Walmart.com, 2017). Moreover, cost of goods sold also increased during each of the financial years whereas the ratio of cost of goods sold and sales revenue reflected consistent increased rate. Accordingly, it can be said that the selected organizations quality of earnings as well as earnings sustainability, Walmart maintained the conceptual framework requirement. Financial statements and non- financial factors on corporate social responsibility and corporate governance have been prepared by considering the requirements of GAAP and financial performance reflected good quality of earnings during the financial year 2014 and 2015 (Joshi et al., 2013). In addition, company maintaining sustainability on earnings with respect to cost of sales, sales and administration expenses compared to the sales revenue in each of the financial year that is 2015, 2014 and 2013. Evaluation of cash flow statement of Walmart Cash flow statement for the reporting financial year represents the total amount of cash inflow and outflow in a company that is measured by comparing the account balances of previous reporting year. The statement specifies the cash flows from operating activities, investing activities as well as financial activities eliminating the non- financial transactions. Considering the cash flow statement of Walmart, it has been observed the company earned net cash from operating activities amounted to $25 billion during the financial year 2013 which was decreased in the year 2014 and again increased in the year 2015 (Walmart.com, 2017). 2015 2014 2013 Net cash flow generated from operating activities 28,564 23,257 25,591 growth rate 22.82 -9.12 5.51 (Source: Created by author) Cash flow from operating activities reflected inconsistent trend as the amount in the year 2013 increased by 5.51% while it declined in 2014 by 9.12%. On the contrary, the cash flow increased in the year 2015 with the high rate by 22.82% representing the efficiency of the company in conducting direct business operations. Free cash flow 2015 2014 2013 Cash flow from operating activities 28,564 23,257 25,591 Less: Capital expenditures 12,174 13,115 12,898 Free cash flow 16,390 10,142 12,693 Change Amount 6,248 -2,551 1,948 Change percentage (%) 61.61 -20.10 18.13 (Source: Created by author) Considering the free cash flow, it can be said the company had left over fund from the business operations increased during the financial years 2013 and 2015 after expending for acquiring fixed assets. During the year 2014, amount of free cash flow declined by 20.10% while the same increased during the year 61.61% which represents the improvement in organizational business performance (Walmart.com, 2017). Cash flows from investment activities represent the amount of cash fund spent by the company to acquire fixed assets, which includes sales proceeds from the disposal of organizational long- term assets. During the year 2015, Walmart sold off certain resources of business operations amounted to $671 million while sale of property and equipment took place during all the three financial years (Walmart.com, 2017). Change in cash flows from investing activities 2015 2014 2013 Net cash used in investing activities 11,125 12,526 12,637 Change amount -1,401 -111 -3,972 Change percentage (%) -11.18 -0.88 -23.91 (Source: Created by author) Cash flow from investing activities represent feasible and favorable if the amount used in acquiring assets increase during the financial year. As the percentage of investment amount in Walmart reflected decreasing trend during the financial year, it can be said the company was not efficient in procuring business operation assets. During the year 2013, cash used in the investment activities declined by around 24% while the same was improved in the year 2014 and reflected only 1% (Walmart.com, 2017). On the contrary, cash flow from financial activities also reflected negative balance, which indicates cash used to finance the business operations. Change in cash flows from financing activities 2015 2014 2013 Net cash used in financing activities 15,071 10,789 11,946 Change amount 4,282 -1,157 3,488 Change percentage (%) 39.69 -9.69 41.24 (Source: Created by author) The above table represents inconsistent trend in using the cash funds from financing activities during the financial years. During the financial year 2013, Walmart experienced 41% increase in accumulating funds from long- term debt financing whereas the amount used in financing activities declined during the year 2014 by 9.69%. Besides, funds used in financing activities during the year 2015 represented 39% change compared to that of the year 2014 stating the most of cash funds used in repayment of debts and dividends. Accordingly, it has been observed that the companys ability in using the cash funds for financing activities improved over the current years compared to the policies used during the financial year 2013 (Dichev et al., 2013). In addition, the overall cash funds of the company reflected inconsistent trend reflecting increasing and decreasing. Change in cash and cash equivalent 2015 2014 2013 Total amount of cash and cash equivalent 9,135 7,281 7,781 Change amount 1,854 -500 1,231 Change percentage (%) 25.46 -6.43 18.79 (Source: Created by author) During the year 2013 and 2015, Walmart generated cash inflows with the increasing trend 18% and 25% respectively. On the contrary, the company incurred cash flow during the year 2014 but the percentage declined by 6% compared to the financial year 2013. Therefore, performance of the company was improved during the current year and past year 2013 compared to the year 2014 (Walmart.com, 2017). Assessment of financial credit quality of Walmart In order to make investment decisions on companys stocks and shares, evaluation of financial credit quality is essential in terms of credit worthiness for the investors investment portfolio. Further, the company applies the method of evaluation of financial credit quality based on the significant due diligence on the companys overall performance including financial and non- financial information (Francis, Michas Seavey, 2013). It is evaluated by using the overall interest rate of the economy and market industry of other organizations in similar sector. Accordingly, factors that affect the evaluation of financial credit quality incorporate performance of past years, borrowing and repayment trend in the past years together with the economic potential for the future years. Evaluation of financial credit quality is considered for short- term as well as for long- term in terms of evaluating the probability of default in repayment of loans (Li, Abeysekera Ma, 2014). Considering the statement of financial position of Walmart, it has been observed that the short- term liabilities amounted to $65 billion, which was higher in the financial year 2014 amounted to $69 billion and $71 billion in the year 2013. Long- term debt of the company involves amount of $41 billion in 2015, which was almost same during the year 2014 and $38 billion during the year 2013 (Walmart.com, 2017). It states that the organization had been borrowing debts maintaining the timeliness and amount of repayment. Financial credit quality 2015 2014 2013 Sales revenue 482,229 473,076 465,604 Short- term borrowings 1,592 7,670 6,805 Long- term debts 41,086 41,771 38,394 Credit quality based on short- term borrowings (%) (short- term borrowings/ sales) 0.33 1.62 1.46 Credit quality based on long- term borrowings (%) (long- term borrowings/ sales) 8.52 8.83 8.25 (Source: Created by author) Calculation of financial credit quality ratio with respect to the short- term loans and long- term debts reflects ability of repayment in accordance with the amount of sales revenue generated during the financial year. Considering the sales revenue, short- term loans consists of 0.33% of the sales for the financial year 2015 whereas 1.46% in 2013 and 1.62% in the year 2014. It has been considered that sales percentage of the company in terms of short- term loan declined in the year 2015, which was higher in previous years 2014 and 2013 (Walmart.com, 2017). On the contrary, long- term borrowing consisted almost consistent percentage during all the three financial years. During the financial year 2013 long- term debts consisted of 8.25%, which was increased in subsequent years 2014 and 2015 (Walmart.com, 2017). Accordingly, it can be said that the company is able in making repayment of loans in the current year as well as in the future years. Profitability analysis 2015 2014 2013 Sales revenue 482,229 473,076 465,604 Cost of sales 365,086 358,069 352,297 Gross profit 117,143 115,007 113,307 Net profit 16,363 16,022 16,999 Sales and gross profit percentage (%) 24.29 24.31 24.34 Sales and net profit percentage (%) 3.39 3.39 3.65 (Source: Created by author) The above computation of profitability ratio represents consistent trend during the three financial years with respect to gross profit as well as net profit. Percentage of gross profit consisted of 24% with respect to the sales revenue while percentage of net profit consisted of 3% during 2015, 2014 and 2013. Hence, Walmart can be said to be capable of repaying the short- term as well as long- term debts. Therefore, it can be said that the companys quality in terms of financial credit is good and can be rated as AAA, AA that is high credit rating for investing in companys bonds and shares. Professional comparison and ranking of Walmart using other organizations as benchmark In order to justify the evaluation and analysis of financial and non- financial performance of Walmart, factors with respect to several other companies have been compared. Considering the financial performance of Costco during the current accounting years, total revenue during the financial year 2015 amounted to $116 million, $112 million in 2014 and $105 million in the year 2013 respectively. The company reflected increasing trend for sales revenue as well as for cost of goods sold. Accordingly, net income of the organization reflected increasing trend during the three financial years. Costco Profitability analysis 2015 2014 2013 $ in millions Total Revenue 116.2 112.64 105.16 Cost of sales 101.06 98.46 91.95 Gross profit 15.14 14.18 13.21 Amount change 0.96 0.97 - Percentage change based on the sales 0.83 0.86 - Net profit 2.37 2.05 2.04 Amount change 0.32 0.01 - Percentage change based on the sales 33.33 1.03 (Source: Created by author) Considering the gross profit trend of Costco, it can be said that the earnings percentage of Costco had been inconsistent while the earnings ratio of Walmart was consistent through the financial years. Similarly, financial performance of Best Buy reflected inconsistent trend during the year 2015, 2014 and 2013. During the financial year 2013 the company incurred losses whereas the financial performance improved during the year 2014 and 2015 as the company earned profit with an increasing rate of around 50%. Further, gross profit rate of the company reflected inconsistent trend since, the rate of gross profit declined in the year 2015 compared to that of 2013 and 2014 (Collins, Hribar Tian, 2014). Moreover, gross profit percentage of Walmart had been consistent during the financial years 2015, 2014 and 2013 along with the percentage of net profit income. Considering the financial information and performance of Staples Company, it can be said that the company managed to improve its business operations over the years. The financial performance resulted in 3% increment in the net profit while other incomes reflected increase of 2.99 times compared to the earnings of previous financial years. Further, the company also maintained growth in accumulated funds from operations as well as employment of financial and fixed assets as business operation resources (Chang et al., 2014). In view of the financial performance of Sears Holdings, sales revenue reflected decreasing trend over the financial years together with the amount of cost of sales. Sears Holdings Profitability analysis 2015 2014 2013 $ in millions Total Revenue 25,146 31,198 36,188 Cost of sales 19,336 24,049 27,433 Gross profit 5,810 7,149 8,755 Amount change -1,339 -1,606 - Percentage change based on the sales -5.32 -5.15 - Net profit/ (Loss) (1,128) (1,810) (1,116) Amount change -682 694 1,116 Percentage change based on the sales 50.93 -43.21 - (Source: Created by author) Above computation of Sears Holdings disclosed net loss at an increasing rate whereas gross profit of the company declined over the years with an increasing rate. Accordingly, it can be said the company had experienced sustainability issues and negative impact on the financial performance. Besides, balance of cash and cash equivalent of the company also declined at high rate since net cash flows operating activities reflected negative balance during the year 2015, 2014 and 2013. Therefore, it can be said that the financial credibility of the company was poor in compared to the Walmart because the company had been consistent in financial performance and earnings sustainability (Fratzscher, Knig Lambert, 2016). Comparison and ranking of Walmart using other companies Factors of comparison Companies Sales revenue Gross margin Net margin Cash flows Earnings sustainability Financial credit quality Ranking Costco Medium Medium High Medium High Medium 2 Best Buy Medium Medium Low Medium Medium Low 4 Staples High High Medium Medium Medium Medium 3 Sears Holdings Low Low Low Low Low Low 5 Walmart Medium High Medium High High Medium 1 (Source: Created by author) Considering the factors that affect the financial performance and sustainability of the organization, it has been observed that the performance of Sears Holdings has been lowest. Besides, the performance of Staples and Best Buy has been moderate in terms of cash flows and earnings sustainability whereas financial credit quality of Best Buy was low (Yaari et al., 2016). On the contrary, sales revenue of Costco as well as Walmart reflected medium level whereas gross margin of Costco reflected medium level and that Walmart reflected high level in terms of earning percentage. Further, financial credit quality of both the companies is medium but the cash flow of Walmart is high and that of Costco reflected medium level (Khanji Siam, 2015). Accordingly, Walmart has been raked one over Costco based on the cash flow and earnings sustainability, even though the net margin of Walmart is medium while that of Costco is high. Recommendation Evaluation of several factors of financial performance, earnings sustainability, credit quality of Walmart and related comparisons with other organizations, it can be said that the company maintains the financial stability. Considering the earnings analysis in terms of net profit, Walmart is recommended to control the business costs so that the net profit margin can be increased. In addition, current assets of the company increased during the year 2015 while current liabilities decreased but the current ratio appeared as 0.96 that is below industrial benchmark required to pay off the liabilities. Hence, the company is recommended to nullify its current liabilities and invest in acquisition of short- term assets to maintain the liquidity position. In addition, statement of cash flow reflected increased value from the business operating activities but decreased value from investing activities. Therefore, in order to improve the financial position of the business, the organization is re commended to invest surplus funds for acquiring fixed assets. It has been observed that the credit quality of the company reflected favorable status in terms of short- term as well as long- term loans and debts. However, the company is recommended to reduce the balance of short- term liabilities that includes suppliers payments and advertising costs amounted to $2.4 billion during the year 2015 and 2014. Income on each shares of the company represented $5.03 in the year 2013 which was declined in the year 2015 to $5.01, hence it is recommended to control the business expenses so that the overall profit and net income per share can be increased. The management of Walmart is also recommended to manage the cost of capital in terms of equity capital as well as the value of debts to increase the return on capital investment for the benefit of users and potential investors. Considering the positive, consistent and improved performance of the company, potential investors can consider for making investments in Walmart over other companies. Conclusion The present report draws the evaluation and analysis of the performance presented by the directors of Walmart for the current year together with the previous years 2014 and 2013. It has been analyzed that the net revenues of the company increased over the years together with the earnings per share. The company also incurred sales revenue at increasing growth rate with respect to each of the sales divisions on different business products. Further, assessment of quality of earnings and earnings sustainability has been conducted based on the financial information of the year 2015, 2014 and 2013. The company has been following conservative approach for the purpose of recognizing incomes along with the compliance of accrual system of accounting as per the requirements of conceptual framework. Considering the earnings quality, the financial statements of Walmart represented reliable and relevant financial information on valuation of assets, income and expenditure values together with the c apital expenditures. Similarly, earnings sustainability has been analyzed based on the sales returns for cost of goods sold, sales and administration expenses or advertisement expenses which disclosed increasing and consistent trend. The report presented the analysis on cash flow statement of the company for the financial year 2015 together with the previous years 2014 and 2013. It has been analyzed that the cash flows from operating activities reflected increased growth rate whereas rate of free cash flows represented inconsistent growth rate. During the financial years 2015 and 2013, free cash flows presented increased rate while rate declined in the year 2014 with negative balance. 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