Saturday, April 11, 2015

What factors would cause a difference in the use of financial leverage for a utility company and an automobile company?

What factors would cause a difference in the use of financial leverage for a utility company and an automobile company?
Financial leverage is defined by the text as the amount of debt used inthe capital structure of the firm. It is what determines how the companyplans to finance their operations. The automobile industries rely heavily on the consumers' demands topurchase more and more every year. Since they are typically a highlyleveraged company, they see a much larger increase on the income withincreased sales than does a conservative company. As described and notedby the Degree of Operating Leverage, an automobile company is at anextreme risk of financial losses if they do not sell anything as opposedto a more conservative firm. But as their sales increase substantially,they are going to make a much larger income compared to the conservativefirm once they pass the break even mark. Now what could cause adifference in the use of their financial leverage would be if the demandfor automobiles decreased. Fortunately for the auto industries theyhouse many specialized machines and most of their value for assets comesfrom PPE.As for a utility company, their products are a necessity so they havethe luxury to charge the consumer a set amount and use the cash receivedto cover for their operations. They also can fluctuate with givennatural causes such as a hurricane and increase the costs associatedwith their use. If you increase the price of an automobile, sales mightdecline drastically. With an increase in a utility, assuming there isn'ta drastic change in habits we will be forced to pay whatever they wantto cover their debts.

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