Financial Analysis of Wesfarmers @Myassignmenthelp.com Free Sample

Question: Discuss about the Financial Analysis of Wesfarmers. Answer: Introduction The report states about the Wesfarmers that was established in 1984 by Westralian Farmers Cooperative Limited. It was formed taking the needs of farmers in Western Australia into consideration with a view to provide the services and merchandise to the Westralian Rural Community. Wesfarmers was enlisted in the Australian Stock Exchange. It comprises of departmental stores, supermarket, coal mining, chemical and energy resources, industrial product and safety, and insurance business. It contributes to the development of rural communities in Australia by providing them with products and services at a rational price and of good quality. Wesfarmers is one of the largest employers with the 205,000 employees and around 500000 shareholders across the world (Wesfarmers, 2016). The Wesfarmers is the one of the largest company in terms of revenue in 2015 that is overtaken the Woolworths and BHP Billiton. The company fosters a culture, which empowers the employees, encourage innovation, bring co mmercial excellence. It accomplishes its corporate social responsibility to maintain its market value and contribute to the growth of the community. It focuses on the wealth maximization of its stakeholders by providing the fair wages and salary to its employee, by providing the dividend to its shareholders, by providing the tax to the government, and by providing the product and services to the community at a lower price. Along with this, the report includes the analysis of four financial statements of the company, which includes a statement of financial position, change in equity statement, income statement, and cash flow statement, which indicates the financial performance of the company in 2015 in comparison of 2014. Besides this, the report suggests some possible solution to the management of Wesfarmers Limited that can help it to remove the financial problems. Statement of financial position: Particulars 2014 (AUD in billions) 2015(AUD in billions) Parentage change Total Current assets 9.31 9.09 2.36% Total noncurrent assets 40.35 41.16 2.01% Total Current Liabilities 8.23 9.73 18.22% Total Noncurrent Liabilities 16.38 14.37 12.27% Total shareholders Equity 25.99 24.78 4.65% Source: Yahoo7, (2016) Statement of financial position is the kind of financial statement, which reveals the financial performance of the company during an accounting year. This statement gives all the information about the companys the financial performance during a financial year. It includes the current liabilities, noncurrent liabilities, current assets, noncurrent assets, and shareholders equity (Healy and Palepu, 2012). The statement helps in tracking the performance of the company and determining the investment avenue. The financial position of the Wesfarmers can be measured by analyzing the below table encompassing the information of the financial performance of the company for 2016 and 2015. From the above table, it can be understood that the Wesfarmerss financial position is going down and the market value in terms of the share price is diminishing. As per the given information in above table, the total current asset of the company has reduced by 2.36% in 2015. It shows that the financial strength of the company has declined in 2015 in comparison of 2014 to meet its short-term liabilities and working capital requirements. Along with this, the noncurrent assets of Wesfarmers in 2015 is increased by 2.01% that shows that the company is owning more fixed assets in the year 2015 than 2014. Along with this, the current liability of the company in 2015 is increased by 18.22% that shows that liquidity position of the company has weakened in comparison to the previous year (Yahoo7, 2016). At the same time, the noncurrent liabilities of Wesfarmers has declined in 2015 that means the company is long-term liabilities has reduced by 12.27%. It indicates the strong financial positio n of the company in meeting the long terms debts. Based on the above analysis, it can be said that the decreased current assets or liquidity and increased short-term liability creates the adverse situation for the Wesfarmers that suppress its market growth. The long-term asset is even increased but cannot be converted into cash whenever it needed to meet the short-term debts. Similarly, the shareholder's equity of the Wesfarmers of 2014 is more than 2015 that means the equity of the company is reduced. It is reduced by 4.65% that shows the declining market share price of the company. Therefore, the financial strength of the company is inclined downward as the current assets because of excess of the liabilities over the assets. Shareholders equity: Statement of shareholders equity is the statement, which shows the change in the equities of the company during a financial year. The equity shareholders statement gives the clear picture of the fluctuations in the equity of the company, dividend distributed by the company, and the outstanding shares and the different methods of the raising the funds such as preference share, common stock, treasury stock, and retained earnings (Brigham and Houston, 2012). This statement helps the management in taking the decisions regarding the equity as well as it helps the investors in tracking the performance of the company. The comparative statement of shareholder equity of Wesfarmers is given below: Particular 2014 (AUD in millions) 2015(AUD in millions) Percentage change Common stock 22,708 21,844 3.80% Retained earnings 2,901 2,742 5.48% Treasury stock 378 195 48.41% Source: Annual Report, (2016) From the above table, it can be interpreted that the common stock of the Wesfarmers is decreased during the year of 2015. As given in the table, the common stock of the company is AUD 22708 million during 2014, which decreased by AUD 21844 million during the year 2015. This shows that the company is losing its market value and is not performing well. The revenue of the company is decreasing which pushing back the investors into doing investment in the stocks of the company. Similarly, the retained earnings of the Wesfarmers are also decreasing. Retained earnings are the part of the total net profit that is kept by the company with itself to plough it back into productive acidities. If the net income of the company increases the retained earnings of the company is also increases. As shown in above table, the retained earnings of the company have decreased of AUD 159 million (2901-2742) by June 2015. This indicates that the net income of the company is decreased it is not performed wil l in the year 2015. This caused less investment in the company, which impacts on its equity statements. Apart from this, treasury stock is also decreased in 2015 as given in the above table. The treasury stock of the Wesfarmers was AUD 378 million in 2014, which is decreased in 2015 by AUD 195 million. The reduction in treasury stock is 48.41%.Therefore, it can be said that the company is not performing anyhow and is losing its efficiency, effectiveness, competitive edge, and market value. Profit and loss statement: Profit and loss statement is known as the income statement, which reveals the income and expenditure of the company during a financial year. It shows the net profit or net loss for the company. It incorporates all the expenses excluding factory expenses on the left side column (Cr.) and all the revenues on the column in the right column (Dr.). If the expenses exceed the revenue of the company, it generates the net loss of the company (Robinson, 2015). If the expenses are below the revenue, then it generates the net profit for the company. The income statement of Wesfarmers for 2014 and 2015 is given below: Particular 2014(AUD in millions) 2015 (AUD in millions) Percentage change Total Operating Revenue 2795 3759 +34.49% Cost of goods sold 41543 43145 +3.86% Total expenses before income tax 57668 59100 +2.42% Non-operating gains and losses 312 412 +32.05% Earnings per common share 234.6% 216.1% -18.5% Source: ASX, (2016) As shown in above table, the total operating income of the Wesfarmers in 2015 has increased by 34.49% that means the company was able to slash its operating cost down and increase the profit. The cost of goods sold has increased by 3.86% while the expenses increased by 2.42% which shows the decreased efficiency of the company in reducing its expenses and production cost in comparison of 2014. The other expenses other than operating are increasing that giving the high cost to the company that in turn is increasing the cost of goods sold. Apart from this, the non-operating gains and losses of $412 million in 2015 are greater the non-operating expenses in 2014. It was increased by 32.05%. It shows that the other expenses of the company excluding operating are increasing and that weakening the financial position of the company. Along with this, the earning per share of Wesfarmers is decreased in 2015 in comparison of 2014 by 18.5% that shows that the net income of the company is decreasi ng. This indicates the lesser shareholders worth for the shareholders (ASX, 2016). Because less net income constraints the company to distribute the dividend at a very lower rate that in turn brings the lesser shareholders equity for the firm. Therefore, based on the above comparative income statement, it can be said that the cash position of the company is not good. The cost of the company is not controlling that is the serious problem for the company. Cash flow statement: Cash flow statement is the one the four financial statement which shows the cash position of the company. It depicts the cash inflow and outflow of the company for a financial year (Weil, 2013). If the cash inflow is greater than the cash outflow, it means the company is having the surplus. While, if the cash outflow is greater than the cash inflow, it means that the company is having cash deficit from the different activities. It is the also very important in the organization as it direct the management in deciding the investment in the different activities as well as the source of funds. Here, the comparative cash flow statement of Wesfarmers for 2014 and 2015 is given below: Particulars 2014(AUD in millions) 2015(AUD in millions) Percentage change Net cash inflow/used in from operating activities 3226 3791 17.51% Net cash inflow from/used in financing activities (3444) (3249) 5.66% Net cash inflows from/used in investing activities 952 (1898) 299.37% Net increase or decrease in cash during the year 734 (1356) 284.74% Source: Market watch, (2016) From the above table, it is found that the Wesfarmers earned $3791million from the operating income in 2015 that is higher than the cash inflow from the operating activities in 2014 that is $3226 million. The net cash inflow from the operating activities increased by 17.51% in the year 2015 which means the company is able to cut down its operating expenses and able to efficiently handle the operating activities. Apart from this, the cash used in the financing activities is higher than cash inflow from the financing activities in both the year 2014 and 2015. However, the cash outflow in financing activities in the year 2014 is more than 2015. The cash used in financing activities in 2015 is $3249 million is lesser than $ 3444 million in 2014. It has been reduced by 5.66% that shows the company is improved its financial condition somehow that reduced its borrowings and payment. At the same time, the investing activities are provided less cash to the company in 2015 in comparison of 201 4. The cash inflow from the investing activities is higher than the cash outflow in 2014 while the same is lesser in 2015. The cash inflow in 2014 is $952million while there is a deficit in 2015 where the cash outflow is greater than the cash inflow by $ 1898 million (Market watch, 2016). Apart from this, the overall position of the company is determined based on the net increase or decrease in cash during the year. In the context of Wesfarmers, based on above table, the cash position of the company in 2014 is increased where the cash in hand for the company is $ 734 million. While, in 2015 the cash position of Wesfarmers is decreased by $1356 million. The cash outflow surpassed the cash inflow for the company, which has given a huge deficit to the company. Therefore, overall it can be said that the cash position of the company in 2015 is not as good as in the year 2014. The cash position of the company is declined in 2015, which indicates the lower profitability, lesser efficiency, less effective management, and ineffective utilization of the resources. Conclusion: From the above analysis of four financial statements, it can be concluded that the financial performance of the company is not well in 2015 in comparison to the year 2014. The findings are the very crucial base for the managerial decisions. The above finding provides the information of weak zones of the company that will help the management of the company in deciding about bringing the company over the financial difficulties. The result will direct the management in making the effective decision to get back the company from financial slacks. The above statements are providing the comparative analysis of the financial performance of the company in 2014 and 2015, which helps the management in improving the performance by maneuvering the correct actions. These findings provide the investors with information that helps them in predicting the future of the company. Based on the statement of financial position, it can be said that the Wesfarmers has experienced the liquidity problem in the year 2015 because the current asset is decreased while the current liabilities are increased. At the same, the stock market is also generated the adverse result for the company as the shareholder's equity is decreased in the year 2015. Along with this, based on the analysis of profit and loss statement, it can be said that the Wesfarmers is not efficient and effective in its operation as the operating expenses are exceeding the operating income of the company. The income is decreased while the expenses are increased in 2015. The cash inflow of the company is decreased while the cash outflow is increased during 2015. The cash inflow has shown the deficit balance for the Wesfarmers in 2015. Along with this, the shareholder's equity is declined in 2015 which slower the market growth of the Wesfarmers and produced the adverse result for the company. Recommendation: From the above analysis, it has been found that the Wesfarmers has faced the intense financial shortcoming and difficulties in the year 2015, which caused adverse result for the company. Therefore, the company should focus on its operating and non-operating costs to minimize the expenses that bring the reduction in the price of the product of the company that will lead to increased sales of the company. The increased sales of the company will cause the revenue of the company to be increased. The Wesfarmers should slash off its operating cost that will increase the operating income of the company and increase the net income of the company. Apart from this, the Wesfarmers should develop its capability to utilize its assets effectively for generating the more revenue. It should arrange the training and development program for the employees that will develop the skills and knowledge of the employees. It will increase their efficiency and increase their performance in both quality and quantity measures. Apart from this, Wesfarmers should reduce the liability by effectively allocating the financial resources to different activities. Effective management of finance removes the problem of liquidity because it gives the finance to the different activities of the company based on their urgency and priority. Along with this, it should focus on employees satisfaction that may possibly improve their productivity, which in turn increase the productivity of the company. Along with this, the Wesfarmers should use its retained earnings in new projects that will increase the profit of the company. Diversification reduces the risk level of the company by distributing it in different business activities. The company should also focus on wealth maximization by increasing the return on investment by the shareholders, by providing the bonuses and incentives to employees for their excellent performance and by providing the community with products and services at a cheaper rate. This will increase the market share of the company and increase the profitability. Besides this, the company can improve its financial position by arranging the long terms financial resources. It will remove the pressure of short-term liabilities on the company. It can also remove the short-term finance requirement by curtailing the recycling process that will help in transforming the inventory into cash in very less time. Besides this, the company should focus on raising its sales th at will generate the more revenue for the company. It should reduce the debt collection period and collect the debts from the market more frequently. So, using these remedies, the Wesfarmers can improve its financial performance and condition that has gone worse in 2015. References: Healy, P. M., Palepu, K. G. (2012)Business Analysis Valuation: Using Financial Statements. USA: Cengage Learning. Brigham, E. F., Houston, J. F. (2012)Fundamentals of financial management. USA: Cengage Learning. Robinson, T. R., Henry, E., Pirie, W. L., Broihahn, M. A. (2015) International financial statement analysis. USA: John Wiley Sons. Weil, R. L., Schipper, K., Francis, J. (2013)Financial accounting: an introduction to concepts, methods and uses. USA: Cengage Learning. Wesfarmers, (2016) Wesfarmers: who we are [Online]. Available at: https://www.wesfarmers.com.au/ (Accessed: 15 September 2016). Market watch (2016) Wesfarmers Ltd. ADR: Financials [Online]. Available at: https://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/wfafy/financials (Accessed: 15 September 2016). Yahoo7, (2016) Wesfarmers: balance sheet [Online]. Available at: https://au.finance.yahoo.com/q/cf?s=WES.AXannual (Accessed: 15 September 2016). ASX, (2016) Price and research: company information [Online]. Available at: https://www.asx.com.au/asx/research/company.do#!/WES (Accessed: 15 September 2016).