Solvency ratios
Solvency ratios represent at attempt to assess the organization's ability to meet its payment obligations over a longer period of time, such as the next 5 years. Some of these ratios are often referred to as coverage ratios. These ratios emphasize cash payments that must be made every year to avoid default. Such payments include interest and principal payments on loans.
The total debt to equity ratio is a generic ratio looking at long-term solvency. If this ratio is high, creditors are supplying a substantial portion of all resources used by the organization. This in turn makes it more difficult for the organization to borrow further, if it were to become necessary[1].
The most common solvency ratios
Solvency ratios measure the ability of a company to meet long term obligations. Major solvency ratios include[2]:
- Debt to equity ratio
The debt to equity ratio is a financial, liquidity ratio that compares a company's total debt to total equity. The debt to equity ratio shows the percentage of company financing that comes from creditors and investors. A higher debt to equity ratio indicates that more creditor financing is used than investor financing
- Equity ratio
The equity ratio is an investment leverage or solvency ratio that measures the amount of assets that are financed by owners' investments by comparing the total equity in the company to the total assets. The equity ratio highlights two important financial concepts of a solvent and sustainable business. The first component shows how much of the total company assets are owned outright by the investors. In other words, after all of the liabilities are paid off, the investors will end up with the remaining assets. The second component inversely shows how leveraged the company is with debt. The equity ratio measures how much of a firm's assets were financed by investors.
- Debt ratio
Debt ratio is a solvency ratio that measures a firm's total liabilities as a percentage of its total assets. In a sense, this ratio shows a company's ability to pay off its liabilities with its assets. In other words, this shows how many assets the company must sell in order to pay off all of its liabilities. Companies with higher levels of liabilities compared with assets are considered highly leveraged and more risky for lenders. This helps investors and creditors analysis the overall debt burden on the company as well as the firm's ability to pay off the debt in future, uncertain economic times.
Types of financial ratios
Financial ratios may be classified by the type of information they provide. Financial ratios for course enterprises are divided into five categories[3]:
- liquidity ratios
- solvency ratios
- activity ratios
- profitability ratios
- operations ratios
Profitability ratios or incomes ratios
The operating efficiency of a firm and its ability to ensure adequate return to its shareholders are reflected in the profits earned by it. Therefore, the firm has to earn reasonable profits so as to survive and grow. Firms which fail to make reasonable profits have no future. Profits earned in relation to sales give the indication that the firm is able to meet all operating expenses and also produce a surplus. In order to judge the efficiency of management with respect to production and sales, profitability ratios are calculated in relation to sales. These are[4]:
- Gross profit ratio
- Net profit
- Operating profit
- Operating ratio
- Expenses ratio
- Return on Investment or return on capital employed
- return on shareholder's equity
- Return on equity or earnings per share
Examples of Solvency ratios
- Debt-to-Equity Ratio: This is a financial ratio which is calculated by dividing a company’s total liabilities by its total shareholders’ equity. This ratio is used to measure a company’s financial leverage, which is a measure of the extent to which a company is utilizing borrowed funds to finance its operations. A high debt-to-equity ratio indicates that the company is taking on more debt than it can handle, which may indicate a higher risk of default.
- Interest Coverage Ratio: This is a financial ratio which is used to measure a company’s ability to pay its interest payments on its outstanding debt. The ratio is calculated by dividing a company’s earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) by its total interest expense. A low interest coverage ratio indicates that the company may be at risk of defaulting on its debt payments.
- Cash Flow to Debt Ratio: This is a financial ratio which is calculated by dividing a company’s operating cash flow by its total debt. This ratio measures a company’s ability to pay off its debt obligations with its available cash flow. A high cash flow to debt ratio indicates that the company has sufficient cash flow to meet its debt obligations.
Advantages of Solvency ratios
Solvency ratios offer a number of advantages for assessing a company’s financial health. These include:
- The ability to evaluate a company’s ability to pay off debt in the long term: Solvency ratios allow investors to assess the long term debt repayment ability of a company. These ratios measure the company’s ability to pay off the principal and interest payments on its loans.
- The ability to compare financial strength of different companies: Solvency ratios can be used to compare the financial strength of different companies. This allows investors to compare the debt repayment ability of different firms.
- The ability to identify potential financial problems: Solvency ratios can be used to identify potential financial problems. If a company has a low solvency ratio, this could be an indication of potential financial problems.
- The ability to assess the financial health of the company: Solvency ratios provide an indication of the overall financial health of a company. They can be used to gauge the overall financial strength of the company.
Limitations of Solvency ratios
Solvency ratios are useful tools for measuring an organization's ability to meet its obligations, but they have some limitations. Some of these limitations include:
- Solvency ratios measure only current financial performance and do not take into account potential future liabilities.
- Solvency ratios are subject to accounting rules and therefore may not accurately reflect true financial performance.
- Solvency ratios do not take into account potential capital investments or other strategic investments that could improve long-term financial performance.
- Solvency ratios are not always reliable indicators of future performance and should be used in conjunction with other financial analysis techniques.
In addition to Solvency ratios, other approaches used to assess an organization’s ability to meet its payment obligations over a longer period of time include:
- Liquidity ratios, which measure the ability of the organization to meet its short-term obligations such as payroll and other expenses. These ratios include the current ratio, quick ratio, and cash ratio.
- Profitability ratios, which measure the organization’s ability to generate profits over a period of time. These ratios include return on assets, return on equity, and margin analysis.
- Activity ratios, which measure how efficiently the organization is using its assets. These ratios include inventory turnover, accounts receivable turnover, and fixed assets turnover.
- Financial leverage ratios, which measure the organization’s ability to pay its debt obligations. These ratios include debt to equity, interest coverage, and debt service coverage.
Overall, Solvency ratios are just one of the many approaches used to assess an organization’s ability to meet its payment obligations over a longer period of time. Other approaches include liquidity ratios, profitability ratios, activity ratios, and financial leverage ratios. All of these approaches should be considered when evaluating the overall financial health of an organization.
Footnotes
| Solvency ratios — recommended articles |
| Debt to total assets ratio — Coverage ratio — Cash Flow-to-Debt Ratio — Fixed-Charge Coverage Ratio — Capitalization ratio — Burn Rate — Operating cash flow ratio — Capitalization ratios — Debt management ratio |
References
- Jones C., Finkler S.A., Kovner C.T. (2012), Financial Management for Nurse Managers and Executives "Elsevier Health Publishing"
- Lessambo F.I. (2018), Auditing, Assurance Services, and Forensics: A Comprehensive Approach "Springer"
- Schmidgall R.S. (2003), Superintendent's Handbook of Financial Management "John Wiley & Sons"
- Singh S.K.,Gupta S. (2016), Entrepreneurship "SBPD Publications"
Author: Natalia Talarek
