Best explains a ratio of (sales/average net fixed assets) that exceeds the industry average



Chapter 6:   Financial Statement Analysis

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1.Determine a firm's total asset turnover (TAT) if its net profit margin (NPM) is 5 percent, total assets are $8 million, and ROI is 8 percent.1.60
2.05
2.50
4.00
2.Felton Farm Supplies, Inc., has an 8 percent return on total assets of $300,000 and a net profit margin of 5 percent. What are its sales?$3,750,000
$480,000
$300,000
$1,500,000
3.Which of the following would NOT improve the current ratio?Borrow short term to finance additional fixed assets.
Issue long-term debt to buy inventory.
Sell common stock to reduce current liabilities.
Sell fixed assets to reduce accounts payable.
4. The gross profit margin is unchanged, but the net profit margin declined over the same period. This could have happened ifcost of goods sold increased relative to sales.
sales increased relative to expenses.
the U.S. Congress increased the tax rate.
dividends were decreased.
5.Palo Alto Industries has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.6 compared with the industry average of 1.4. This means that the companywill not experience any difficulty with its creditors.
has less liquidity than other firms in the industry.
will be viewed as having high creditworthiness.
has greater than average financial risk when compared to other firms in its industry.
6.Kanji Company had sales last year of $265 million, including cash sales of $25 million. If its average collection period was 36 days, its ending accounts receivable balance is closest to         . (Assume a 365-day year.)$26.1 million
$23.7 million
$7.4 million
$18.7 million
7.A company can improve (lower) its debt-to-total assets ratio by doing which of the following?Borrow more.
Shift short-term to long-term debt.
Shift long-term to short-term debt.
Sell common stock.
8.Which of the following statements (in general) is correct?A low receivables turnover is desirable.
The lower the total debt-to-equity ratio, the lower the financial risk for a firm.
An increase in net profit margin with no change in sales or assets means a poor ROI.
The higher the tax rate for a firm, the lower the interest coverage ratio.
9.Retained earnings for the "base year" equals 100.0 percent. You must be looking ata common-size balance sheet.
a common-size income statement.
an indexed balance sheet.
an indexed income statement.
10.Krisle and Kringle's debt-to-total assets (D/TA) ratio is .4. What is its debt-to-equity (D/E) ratio?.2
.6
.667
.333
11.A firm's operating cycle is equal to its inventory turnover in days (ITD)plus its receivable turnover in days (RTD).
minus its RTD.
plus its RTD minus its payable turnover in days (PTD).
minus its RTD minus its PTD.
12.When doing an "index analysis," we should expect that changes in a number of the firm's current asset and liabilities accounts (e.g., cash, accounts receivable, and accounts payable) would move roughly together with          for a normal, well-run company.net sales
cost of goods sold
earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT)
earnings before taxes (EBT)
The following item is NEW to the 13th edition.

13.The process of convergence of accounting standards around the world aims to

         .narrow or remove national accounting differences
move non-US accounting standards towards US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (US GAAP)
create one set of rules-based accounting standards for all countries

Best explains a ratio of (sales/average net fixed assets) that exceeds the industry average
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Best explains a ratio of (sales/average net fixed assets) that exceeds the industry average

How efficiently a business uses fixed assets to generate sales

What is Fixed Asset Turnover?

Fixed Asset Turnover (FAT) is an efficiency ratio that indicates how well or efficiently a business uses fixed assets to generate sales. This ratio divides net sales by net fixed assets, calculated over an annual period. The net fixed assets include the amount of property, plant, and equipment, less the accumulated depreciation. Generally, a higher fixed asset ratio implies more effective utilization of investments in fixed assets to generate revenue. This ratio is often analyzed alongside leverage and profitability ratios.

Best explains a ratio of (sales/average net fixed assets) that exceeds the industry average

Learn more ratios in CFI’s financial analysis fundamentals course!

Fixed Asset Turnover Ratio Formula

To determine the Fixed Asset Turnover ratio, the following formula is used:

Fixed Asset Turnover = Net Sales / Average Fixed Assets

Example Calculation

Fisher Company has annual gross sales of $10M in the year 2015, with sales returns and allowances of $10,000. Its net fixed assets’ beginning balance was $1M, while the year-end balance amounts to $1.1M. Based on the given figures, the fixed asset turnover ratio for the year is 9.51, meaning that for every one dollar invested in fixed assets, a return of almost ten dollars is earned.  The average net fixed asset figure is calculated by adding the beginning and ending balances, then dividing that number by 2.

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What are Fixed Assets?

Fixed assets are tangible long-term or non-current assets used in the course of business to aid in generating revenue. These include real properties, such as land and buildings, machinery and equipment, furniture and fixtures, and vehicles. They are subject to periodic depreciation, impairments, and disposition. All of these are depreciated from the initial asset value periodically until they reach the end of their usefulness or are retired.

Best explains a ratio of (sales/average net fixed assets) that exceeds the industry average

Indications of High / Low Fixed Asset Turnover Ratio

Low Ratio

When the business is underperforming in sales and has a relatively high amount of investment in fixed assets, the FAT ratio may be low.

This is especially true for manufacturing businesses that utilize big machines and facilities. Although not all low ratios are bad, if the company just made some new large purchases of fixed assets for modernization, the low FAT may have a negative connotation.

A declining ratio may also suggest that the company is over-investing in its fixed assets.

High Ratio

A high ratio, on the other hand, is preferred for most businesses. It indicates that there is greater efficiency in regards to managing fixed assets; therefore, it gives higher returns on asset investments.

There is no exact ratio or range to determine whether or not a company is efficient at generating revenue on such assets. This can only be discovered if a comparison is made between a company’s most recent ratio and previous periods or ratios of other similar businesses or industry standards.

Fixed assets vary significantly from one company to another and from one industry to another, so it is relevant to compare ratios of similar types of businesses.

Learn more ratios in CFI’s financial analysis fundamentals course!

How Useful is the Fixed Asset Turnover Ratio to Investors?

Investors who are looking for investment opportunities in an industry with capital-intensive businesses may find FAT useful in evaluating and measuring the return on money invested.  This evaluation helps them make critical decisions on whether or not to continue investing, and it also determines how well a particular business is being run. It is likewise useful in analyzing a company’s growth to see if they are augmenting sales in proportion to their asset bases.

Learn More

Thank you for reading CFI’s guide to Fixed Asset Turnover. To learn more about assets and financial analysis, see the following CFI resources:

  • Inventory Turnover
  • Return on assets
  • Return on equity
  • Analysis of financial statements guide

Which of the following would best explain a situation where the ratio of net income?

Which of the following would best explain a situation where the ratio of (net income/total equity) of a firm is higher than the industry average, while the ratio of (net income/total assets) is lower than the industry average? The firm's debt ratio is higher than the industry average.

What does the sales to fixed assets ratio mean?

Sales to fixed asset ratio is an asset utilization measure that allows investors to understand how well a company uses its assets to generate revenue. This ratio shows how many times the company's fixed assets are turned over in a year.

What happens when fixed asset turnover ratio increases?

The fixed asset turnover ratio reveals how efficient a company is at generating sales from its existing fixed assets. A higher ratio implies that management is using its fixed assets more effectively.

What is good sales asset ratio?

In the retail sector, an asset turnover ratio of 2.5 or more could be considered good, while a company in the utilities sector is more likely to aim for an asset turnover ratio that's between 0.25 and 0.5.