Chapter - 14

Financial and Operating

Leverage
Chapter Objectives
 Explain the concept of financial leverage.
 Discuss the alternative measures of financial
leverage.
 Understand the risk and return implications of
financial leverage.
 Analyse the combined effect of financial and
operating leverage.
 Highlight the difference between operating
risk and financial risk.

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Capital Structure Defined
 The term capital structure is used to represent
the proportionate relationship between debt
and equity.
 The various means of financing represent the
financial structure of an enterprise. The left-
hand side of the balance sheet (liabilities plus
equity) represents the financial structure of a
company. Traditionally, short-term borrowings
are excluded from the list of methods of
financing the firm’s capital expenditure.

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Questions while Making the Financing
Decision
 How should the investment project be financed?
 Does the way in which the investment projects are
financed matter?
 How does financing affect the shareholders’ risk,
return and value?
 Does there exist an optimum financing mix in terms
of the maximum value to the firm’s shareholders?
 Can the optimum financing mix be determined in
practice for a company?
 What factors in practice should a company consider
in designing its financing policy?

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Meaning of Financial Leverage
 The use of the fixed-charges sources of funds, such
as debt and preference capital along with the owners’
equity in the capital structure, is described as
financial leverage or gearing or trading on equity.
 The financial leverage employed by a company is
intended to earn more return on the fixed-charge
funds than their costs. The surplus (or deficit) will
increase (or decrease) the return on the owners’
equity. The rate of return on the owners’ equity is
levered above or below the rate of return on total
assets.

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Measures of Financial Leverage
 Debt ratio
 Debt–equity ratio
 Interest coverage
 The first two measures of financial leverage can be
expressed either in terms of book values or market
values. These two measures are also known as
measures of capital gearing.
 The third measure of financial leverage, commonly
known as coverage ratio. The reciprocal of interest
coverage is a measure of the firm’s income gearing.

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Financial Leverage of Ten Largest
Indian Companies, 2002
Company Capital Gearing Income Gearing
Debt ratio Debt–equity ratio Interest coverage Interest to EBIT ratio
1. Indian Oil 0.556 1.25:1 4.00 0.250
2. HPCL 0.350 0.54:1 5.15 0.194
3. BPCL 0.490 0.96:1 5.38 0.186
4. SAIL 0.858 6.00:1 - ve - ve
5. ONGC 0.106 0.12:1 53.49 0.019
6. TELCO 0.484 0.94:1 0.99 1.007
7. TISCO 0.577 1.37:1 1.62 0.616
8. BHEL 0.132 0.15:1 8.36 0.120
9. Reliance 0.430 0.75:1 3.46 0.289
10. L&T 0.522 1.09:1 2.31 0.433
11. HLL 0.027 0.03:1 264.92 0.004
12. Infosys 0.000 0.00:1 NA* NA*
13. Voltas 0.430 0.72:1 2.64 0.378

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Financial Leverage and the
Shareholders’ Return
 The primary motive of a company in using financial
leverage is to magnify the shareholders’ return under
favourable economic conditions. The role of financial
leverage in magnifying the return of the shareholders’
is based on the assumptions that the fixed-charges
funds (such as the loan from financial institutions and
banks or debentures) can be obtained at a cost lower
than the firm’s rate of return on net assets (RONA or
ROI).
 EPS, ROE and ROI are the important figures for
analysing the impact of financial leverage.

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EPS and ROE Calculations

Profit after tax

Earnings per share =
Number of shares
PAT ( EBIT − INT)(1 −T)
EPS = =
N N

Profit after tax

Return on equity =
Value of equity
(EBIT − INT)(1 −T)
ROE =
S

 For calculating ROE either the book value or

the market value equity may be used.
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 Effect of Financial Plan on EPS and
ROE: Constant EBIT
 The firm is considering Financial Plan

two alternative financial

plans: Debt-equity
(Rs)
All-equity
(Rs)
 (i) either to raise the 1. Earnings before interest and taxes, 120,000 120,000
entire funds by issuing EBIT
50,000 ordinary shares at 2. Less: interest, INT 0 37,500
Rs 10 per share, or
3. Profit before taxes, PBT = EBIT – 120,000 82,500
 (ii) to raise Rs 250,000 by INT
issuing 25,000 ordinary 4. Less: Taxes, T (EBIT – INT) 60,000 41,250
shares at Rs 10 per share 5. Profit after taxes, PAT = (EBIT – 60,000 41,250
INT) (1 – T)
and borrow Rs 250,000 at
6. Total earnings of investors, PAT + 60,000 78,750
15 per cent rate of INT
interest. 7. Number of ordinary shares, N 50,000 25,000
 The tax rate is 50 per 8. EPS = (EBIT – INT) (1 – T)/N 1.20 1.65

cent. 9. ROE = (EBIT – INT) (1 – T)/S 12.0% 16.5%

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Effect of Leverage on ROE and
EPS

Favourable ROI >i

Unfavourable ROI <i

Neutral ROI =i

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 Effect of Financial Plan on EPS
and ROE: Varing EBIT Plan I: No debt
EBIT –25.00 50.00 75.00 120.00 160.00 300.00

Less: Interest 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

PBT –25.00 50.00 75.00 120.00 160.00 300.00

Less: tax, 50% –12.50* 25.00 37.50 60.00 80.00 150.00

PAT –12.50 25.00 37.50 60.00 80.00 150.00

No. of shares (000) 50.00 50.00 50.00 50.00 50.00 50.00

EPS (Rs) –0.25 0.50 0.75 1.20 1.60 3.00

ROE (%) –2.50 5.00 7.50 12.00 16.00 30.00

Plan II: 25% debt

Economic Conditions EBIT –25.00 50.00 75.00 120.00 160.00 300.00
Very poor Poor Normal Good
Probability 0.05 Less: Interest 18.75 18.75 18.75 18.75 18.75 18.75
0.10 0.15 0.35 0.30 0.05
Sales (Rs) 510 660 710 800 880 1,160 PBT –43.75 31.25 56.25 101.25 141.25 281.25
Costs:
Less: tax, 50% –21.88* 15.63 28.13 50.63 70.63 140.63
Variable (Rs) 255 330 355 400 440 580
Fixed (Rs) 280 280 280 280 280 280
PAT –21.87 15.62 28.12 50.62 70.62 140.62
Total Costs (Rs) 535 610 635 680 720 860
EBIT (Rs) –25 50 75 120 160 300 No. of share (000) 37.50 37.50 37.50 37.50 37.50 37.50
ROI (r) –5% 10% 15% 24% 32% 60%
EPS (Rs) –0.58 0.42 0.75 1.35 1.88 3.75

ROE (%) –5.80 4.20 7.50 13.50 18.80 37.50

Plan III: 50% debt

EBIT –25.00 50.00 75.00 120.00 160.00 300.00

Less: Interest 37.50 37.50 37.50 37.50 37.50 37.50

PBT –62.50 12.50 37.50 82.50 122.50 262.50

Less: tax, 50% –31.25* 6.25 18.75 41.25 61.25 131.25

PAT –31.25 6.25 18.75 41.25 61.25 131.25

No. of shares (000) 25.00 25.00 25.00 25.00 25.00 25.00

EPS (Rs) –1.25 0.25 0.75 1.65 2.45 5.25

ROE (%) –12.50 2.50 7.50 16.50 24.50 52.50

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Operating Leverage
 Operating leverage
affects a firm’s operating
profit (EBIT).
 The degree of % Change in EBIT
operating leverage DOL 
% Change in Sales
(DOL) is defined as the
percentage change in  EBIT/EBIT
DOL 
the earnings before  Sales/Sales
interest and taxes
relative to a given
percentage change in
sales.

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Combining Financial and Operating
Leverages
 Operating leverage affects a firm’s operating
profit (EBIT), while financial leverage affects
profit after tax or the earnings per share.
 The degrees of operating and financial
leverages is combined to see the effect of
total leverage on EPS associated with a
given change in sales.

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Combining Financial and Operating
Leverages
 The degree of combined leverage (DCL) is
given by the following equation:
% Change in EBIT % Change in EPS % Change in EPS
  
% Change in Sales % Change in EBIT % Change in Sales
 another way of expressing the degree of
combined leverage is as follows:
Q( s  v) Q( s  v)  F Q( s  v)
DCL   
Q( s  v)  F Q( s  v)  F  INT Q ( s  v)  F  INT

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Financial Leverage and the
Shareholders’ Risk
 The variability of EBIT and EPS distinguish between
two types of risk—operating risk and financial risk.
 Operating risk can be defined as the variability of
EBIT (or return on total assets). The environment—
internal and external—in which a firm operates
determines the variability of EBIT
 The variability of EBIT has two components:
 variability of sales
 variability of expenses
 The variability of EPS caused by the use of financial
leverage is called financial risk.

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 Measuring Operating and Financial
Risk
 We can use two measures of risk:
 Standard deviation and
 Coefficient of variation.

 2 (EPS)  [EPS1  E (EPS)] 2 P1  [EPS2  E (EPS)] 2 P2  L  [EPS j  E (EPS)] 2 Pj

n
  [EPS
j 1
j  E (EPS)] 2 Pj

n
E (EPS)  EPS1  P1  EPS 2  P2  L  EPS j Pj   EPS P
j 1
j j

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