A REPORT ON “WORKING CAPITAL MANAGEMENT IN HCL INFOSYSTEMS LIMITED”
BY
(Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of MBA program at ICFAI Business School, Chandigarh)
ACKOWLEDGEMENT
Achievement is finding out what you would be then doing, what you have to do. The higher the summit, the harder is the climb. The goal was fixed and we began with a determined resolved and put in ceaseless sustained hard work. Greater challenge, greater was our effort to overcome it. This project work, which is my first step in the field of professionalization, professionalization, has been successfully accomplished only because of my timely support of wellwishers. I would like to pay my sincere regards and thanks to those, who directed me at every step in my project work. I would also like to thank the faculty members and the staff members of HCL Infosystems Ltd. for their kind support and help during the project.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgement Abstract 1. In Intr trod oduc ucti tion on •
The problems
•
Purpose of study
•
Research methodology
•
Scope of the study
•
Data sources
•
Limitations
2. Hind Hindustan ustan Compu Computers ters Limi Limited ted 3.
HCL Infosystems – An Overview •
Company’s history
•
HCL at a glance
•
Alliances and partnerships
•
Management team
•
Corporate information
4. Con Concep ceptua tuall Framew Framework ork
•
Introduction to Working Capital Management
•
Significance of working capital management
•
Liquidity vs Profitability: Risk – Return trade off
•
Classification of working capital
•
Types of working capital needs
•
Financing of working capital
•
Factors determining working capital requirements
•
Working capital cycle
•
Sources of working capital
•
HCL financials
•
Working capital position
•
Inventory management
•
Cash management
•
Receivables management
•
Managing payables (Creditors)
•
Financing current assets
•
Working capital & short-term financing
5. An Anal alys ysis is •
Industry analysis
•
Financial graphs
•
Concluding analysis
•
Suggestions and recommendations
•
Bibliography
6. Ap Appe pend ndic ices es
ABSTRACT
This project is based on the study of working capital management in HCL Infoystems. An insight view of the project will encompass – what it is all about, what it aims to achieve, what is its purpose and scope, the various methods used for collecting data and their sources, including literature survey done, further specifying the limitations of our study and in the last, drawing inferences from the learning so far. HCL Infosystems Limited (HCL), is a leading domestic computer hardware and hardware services company. HCL is engaged in selling manufactured ( like PCs, servers, monitors and peripherals) and traded hardware ( like notebooks, peripherals) to institutional clients as well as in retail segment. It also offers hardw hardwar aree supp support ort serv service icess to exist existin ing g clien clients ts throu through gh annua annuall maint mainten enan ance ce contracts, network consulting and facilities management. The working capital management refers to the management of working capital, or precisely to the management of current assets. A firm’s working capital consists of its investments investments in current assets, which includes short-term short-term assets— cash and bank balance, inventories, receivable and marketable securities. This project tries to evaluate how the management of working capital is done in HCL Infos Infosyst ystems ems throu through gh inven invento tory ry ratio ratios, s, worki working ng capit capital al rati ratios, os, tren trends, ds, computation of cash, inventory and working capital, and short term financing.
INTRODUCTION
s n o i t a t i m i L s e c r u o s a t a D y d u t s e h t f o e p o c S y g o l o d o h t e m h c r a e s e R y d u t s f o e s o p r u P s m e l b o r p e h T
INTRODUCTION:
The project undertaken is on “WORKING CAPITAL MANAGEMENT IN HCL INFOSYSTEMS LIMITED”. It describes about how the company manages its working capital and the various steps that are required in the management of working capital.
Cash is the lifeline of a company. If this lifeline deteriorates, so does the company's ability to fund operations, reinvest and meet capital requirements and payments. Understanding a company's cash flow health is essential to making investment decisions. A good way to judge a company's cash flow prospects is to look at its working capital management (WCM).
Working capital refers to the cash a business requires for day-to-day operations or, more specifically, for financing the conversion of raw materials into finished goods, which the company sells for payment. Among the most important items of working capital are levels of inventory, accounts receivable, and accounts payable. Analysts look at these items for signs of a company's efficiency and financial strength. The working capital is an important yardstick to measure the company’s operational and financial efficiency. Any company should have a right amount of cash and lines of credit for its business needs at all times.
This project describes how the management of working capital takes place at HCL Infosystems.
THE PROBLEMS In the management of working capital, the firm is faced with two key problems: 1.
First, given the level of sales and the relevant cost considerations, considerations, what are the optimal amounts of cash, accounts receivable and inventories that a firm should choose to maintain?
2.
Second, given these optimal amounts, what is the most economical way to
finance these working capital investments? To produce the best possible results, firms should keep no unproductive assets and should finance with the cheapest available sources of funds. Why? In general, it is quite advantageous for the firm to invest in short term assets and to finance short-term liabil liabiliti ities. es.
PURPOSE OF STUDY The objectives of this project were mainly to study the inventory, cash and receivable at HCL Infosystems Ltd., but there are some more and they are •
The main purpose of our study is to render a better understanding of the concept “Working Capital Management”.
•
To understand the planning and management of working capital at HCL Infosystems Ltd.
•
To measure the financial soundness of the company by analyzing various ratios.
•
To suggest ways for better management and control of working capital at the concern.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
•
Thi This s proj project ect requ requir ires es a deta detail iled ed under underst stand andin ing g of the the conce concept pt – “Wor “Worki king ng Capi Capita tall Mana Manage geme ment nt”. ”. Ther Theref efor ore, e,
firstly we need to have a clear idea of what is working capital, how it is managed in HCL Infosystems, what are the the di diff ffer eren entt ways ways in whic which h the the fina financ ncin ing g of work workin ing g capital is done in the company.
•
The managem management ent of working working capital capital involve involvess managin managing g invento inventories ries,, accounts receivable and payable and cash. Therefore one also needs to have a sound knowledge about cash management, inventory management and receivables management.
•
Then comes the financing of working capital requirement, i.e. how the working capital is financed, what are the various sources through which it is done.
•
And, in the end, suggestions and recommendations on ways for better management and control of working capital are provided.
SCOPE OF THE STUDY Thi hiss pr proj ojec ectt is vi vita tall to me in a si sign gnif ific ican antt wa way y. It do does es ha have ve so some me importance for the company too. These are as follows –
•
This project will be a learning device for the finance student.
•
Through this project I would study the various methods of the working capital management.
•
The project will be a learning of planning and financing working capital.
•
Thee proje Th project ct would would also also be an effec effectiv tivee tool tool for for cred credit it po polic licies ies of the the companies.
•
This will show different methods of holding inventory and dealing with cash and receivables.
•
This will show the liquidity position of the company and also how do they maintain a particular liquidity liquidity position.
DATA SOURCES: The following sources have been sought for the prep of this report:
•
Primary sources such as business magazines, current annual reports, book on Financial Management by various authors and internet websites the imp amongst them being : www.hcl.com www.hcl.com,, www.indiainfoline.com www.indiainfoline.com,, www.studyfinance.com .
•
Secondary sources like previous years annual reports, reports on working capital for research, analysis and comparison of the data gathered.
•
While While do doing ing this this proj projec ect, t, the data data rela relatin ting g to work workin ing g capi capital tal,, cash cash management, management, receivables receivables management, management, inventory inventory management management and short term financing was required.
•
This data was gathered through the company’s websites, its corporate intranet, HCL’s annual reports of the last five years.
•
A detailed study on the actual working processes of the company is also done do ne thro throug ugh h dire direct ct inte intera ract ctio ion n with with the the empl employ oyee eess and and by time timely ly studying the happenings at the company.
•
Also, various text books on financial management like ICFAI’s book, Khan & Jain, Prasanna Chandra and I.M.Pandey were consulted to equip ourselves with the topic.
LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY:
•
We cannot do comparisons with other companies unless and until we have the data of other companies on the same subject.
•
Only the printed data about the company will be available and not the back–end details.
•
Future plans of the company will not be disclosed to the trainees.
•
Lastly, due to shortage of time it is not possible to cover all the factors and details regarding the subject of study.
•
The latest financial data could not be reported as the company’s websites have not been updated.
HINDUSTAN COMPUTERS LIMITED:
Type
Public (BSE BSE:: 500179 500179,,BSE BSE:: 532281 532281))
Founded
11th August 1976
Headquarters
Noida, India (Delhi metropolitan area), area), India
Key People
Shiv Na Shi Nad dar , Founder, Chairman & Sanjay Kumar Choudhary , Vineet Nayar
Industry
Information Technology Services
Revenue
▲4.7 billion USD
Employees
~53,000 (as on 31st Dec 2007)
Website
www.hcl.in
CEO
Hindustan Computers Limited, also known as HCL Enterprise, is one of
India''s largest electronics India electronics,, computing and information technology company. Based in Noida in Noida,, near Delhi near Delhi,, the company comprises two publicly listed Indian companies, HCL Technologies and HCL Infosystems. HCL was founded in 1976 by Shiv Nadar , Ajai Chowdhry and four of their colleagues. HCL was focused on addressing the IT hardware market in India for the first two decades of its existence with some sporadic activity in the global
market. In 1981 1981,, HCL seeded a company focused on addressing the computer training industry indus try,, NIIT NIIT,, though it has currently divested its stake in the company. In 1991 1991,, HP took minority stake in the company (26%) and the company was known as HCL HP for the five years of the joint venture. On termination of the joint venture in 1996 1996,, HCL became an enterprise which
comprises HCL Technologies (to address the global IT services market) and HCL Infosystems (to address the Indian and APAC IT hardware market). HCL has since then operated as a holding company.
HCL INFOSYSTEMS – AN OVERVIEW
n o i t a m r o f n i e t a r o p r o C
m a e t t n e m e g a n a M
s p i h s r e n t r a p d n a s e c n a i l l A
e c n a l g a t a L C H
y r o t s i h s ’ y n a p m o C
HCL INFOSYSTEMS LIMITED
AN OVERVIEW ABOUT THE COMPANY
HCL Infosystems is no flash in the Information Technology pan. Founded in 1976, the firm has climbed into pantheon of India's corporate giants on the strength of its IT products and services. HCL Infosystems specializes in IT hardware
(PC's
and
servers,
as
well
as
networking,
imaging
and
comm commun unic icat atio ions ns prod produc ucts ts), ), and and syst system em inte integr grat atio ion n serv servic ices es serv servin ing g the the domestic Indian market. In addition to its consumer products, the company provides provides commercial commercial IT products, facilities management, network services, and IT security security service servicess for clients clients in such industries industries as gov governm ernment ent,, financia financiall service services, s, and educati education. on. HCL Corporation Corporation owns owns signifi significan cantt stakes stakes in HCL Infosystems (about 44%) and sister company HCL Technologies. HCL Infosystems Ltd, a listed subsidiary of HCL, is an India-based hardware and systems integrator. It claims a presence in 170 locations and 300 service centres. Its manufacturing facilities are based in Chennai, Chennai , Pondicherry and Uttarakhand .Its headquarters is in Noida in Noida.. HCL Peripherals (A Unit of HCL Infosystems Limited) Founded in the year 1983, has established itself as a leading manufacturer of computer peripherals in India, encompassing Display Products, Thin Client solutions, Information and Interactive Kiosks. HCL Peripherals has two Manufacturing facilities, one in Pond Pondic iche herry rry (Elec (Electr troni onics cs)) and and the othe otherr in Chenna Chennaii (Mech (Mechan anic ical) al) .The .The Company has been accredited with ISO 9001:2000, ISO 14001, TS 16949 and ISO 13485.
HISTORY
HCL Infosystems Ltd is one of the pioneers in the Indian IT market, with its origins in 1976. For over quarter of a century, we have have develo developed ped and implemen implemented ted solutio solutions ns for multipl multiplee market segments, across a range of technologies in India. We have been in the forefront in introducing new technologies and soluti solutions ons.. The highl highligh ights ts of the HCL saga saga are are summa summariz rized ed below:
Y E AR H I G H L I G H T S
1976
- Foundation of the Company laid - Introduces microcomputer-based programmable calculators with wide acceptance in the scientific / education community
1977
- Launch of the first microcomputer-based commercial computer with a ROM -based Basic interpreter - Unavailability of programming skills with customers results in HCL developing bespoke applications for their customers
1980
- Formation of Far East Computers Ltd., a pioneer in the Singapore IT market, for SI (System Integration) solutions
1983
- HCL launches an aggressive advertisement campaign with the theme ' even a typist can operate' to make the usage of computers popular in the SME (Small & Medium Enterprises) segment. This proposition involved menu-based applications for the first time, to increase ease of operations. The response to the advertisement was phenomenal. -HCL develops special program generators to speed up the development of applications
1986
- Zonal offices of banks and general insurance companies adopt computerization - Purchase specifications demand the availability of RDBMS products on the supplied solution (Unify, Oracle). HCL arranges for such products to be ported to its platform. - HCL assists customers to migrate from flat-file based systems to RDBMS
1991
- HCL enters into a joint venture with Hewlett Packard - HP assists HCL to introduce new services: Systems Integration, IT consulting, packaged support services ( basic line, team line )
1994
- HCL acquires and executes the first offshore project from IBM Thailand - HCL sets up core group to define software development methodologies
1995
- Starts execution of Information System Planning projects
- Execution projects for Germany and Australia - Begins Help desk services 1996
- Sets up the STP ( Software Technology Park ) at Chennai to execute software projects for international customers - Becomes national integration partner for SAP
1997
- Kolkata and Noida STPs set up - HCL buys back HP stake in HCL Hewlett Packard
1998
- Chennai and Coimbatore development facilities get ISO 9001 certification
1999
- Acquires and sets up fully owned subsidiaries in USA and UK - Sets up fully owned subsidiary in Australia - HCL ties up with Broadvision as an integration partner
2000
- Sets up fully owned subsidiary in Australia - Chennai and Coimbatore development facilities get SEI Level 4 certification - Bags Award for Top PC Vendor In India - Becomes the 1st IT Company to be recommended for latest version of ISO 9001 : 2000 - Bags MAIT's Award Award for Business Excellence Excelle nce - Rated as No. 1 IT Group in India
2001
-Launched Pentium IV PCs at below Rs 40,000 -IDC rated HCL Infosystems as No. 1 Desktop PC Company of 2001
2002
-Declared as Top PC Vendor Vendor by b y Dataquest -HCL Infosystems & Sun Microsystems enters into a Enterprise Distribution Agreement - Realigns businesses, increasing focus on domestic IT, Communications & Imaging products, solutions & related services
2003
- Became the first vendor to register sales of 50,000 PCs in a quarter - First Indian company to be numero uno in the commercial PC market - Enters into partnership with AMD - Launched Home PC for Rs 19,999
2004
- 1st to announce PC price cut in India, post duty reduction, offers Ezeebee at Rs. 17990 - Maintains No.1 position in the Desktop PC segment for year 2003 - Becomes the 1st company to cross 1 lac unit milestone in the Indian Desktop PC market - Partners with Union Bank to make PCs more affordable, introduces lowest ever EMI for PC in India - Registers a market share of 13.7% to become No.1 Desktop PC company for year 2004 - Crosses the landmark of $ 1 billion in revenue in just nine months
2005
2006 (till June)
- Launch of HCL PC for India, a fully functional PC priced at Rs.9,990/- Rated as the No.1 Desktop PC company by IDC India -Dataquest - 'Best Employer 2005' with five star ratings by IDC India -Dataquest. - 'The Most Customer Responsive Company 2005' -IT Hardware Category by The Economic Times -Avaya Global Connect. -Top 50 fastest growing Technology Companies in India' & 'Top 500 fastest Growing Technology Companies in Asia Pacific' by 'Deloitte & Touche'. by 'Deloitte & Touche' -'7th IETE -Corporate Award 2005' for performance excellence in the field of Computers & Telecommunication Systems by IETE. -India 's 'No.1 vendor' for sales of A3 size Toshiba Multi Functional Devices for the year '04 -'05 by IDC. -Toshiba 'Super Award 2005 towards business excellence in distribution of Toshiba Multifunctional products, -Strategic Partners in Excellence' Award by In focus Corporation for projectors. -'Most valued Business Partner' Award for projectors by In focus Corporation in 2005 - 75, 000+ machines produced in a single month - HCL Infosystems in partnership with Toshiba expands its retail presence in India by unveiling 'shop Toshiba' - HCL Infosystems & Nokia announce a long term distribution strategy - HCL the leader in Desktops PCs unveils India's first segment specific range of notebooks brand - 'HCL Laptops' - IDBI selects HCL as SI partner for 100 branches ICT infrastructure rollout - HCL Infosystems showcases Computer Solutions for the Rural Markets in India - HCL Support wins the DQ Channels-2006 Channe ls-2006 GOLD Award Award for Best Bes t After Sales Service on a nationwide customer satisfaction survey conducted by IDC - HCL Infosystems First in India to Launch the New Generation of High Performance Server Platforms Powered by Intel Dual - Core Xeon 5000 Processor - HCL Forms a Strategic Partnership with APPLE to provide Sales & Service Support for iPods in India
VISION STATEMENT:
"Together we create the Enterprises of Tomorrow"
MISSION STATEMENT: "To provide world-class Information Technology solutions and services in order to enable our customers to serve their customers better"
CORE VALUES: •
Nothing transforms life like education.
•
We shall honor all commitments
•
We shall be committed to Quality, Innovation and Growth in every endeavor
•
We shall be responsible corporate citizens
QUALITY POLICY: "We shall deliver defect-free products, services and solutions to meet the requirements of our external and internal customers, the first time, every time."
OBJECTIVES: •
MANAGEMENT OBJECTIVES –
To fuel initiative and foster activity by allowing individuals, freedom of action and innovation in attaining defined objectives.
•
PEOPLE OBJECTIVES –
To help people in HCL Infosystems Ltd., share company’s success, which
they make possible; to provide job security based on their
performance; to recognize their individual achievements; and help them gain a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment from their work.
ALLIANCES and PARTNERSHIPS:
To provide world-class solutions and services to all our customers, HCL Infosystems have formed Alliances and Partnerships with leading IT companies worldwide. HCL Infosystems has alliances with global technology leaders like Intel, AMD, Microsoft, Bull, Toshiba, Toshiba, Nokia, Sun Microsystems, Ericsson, nVIDIA,
SAP, Scansoft, SCO, EMC, Veritas, Citrix, CISCO, Oracle, Computer Associates, RedHat, Infocus, Duplo, Samsung and Novell.
These alliances on one hand give us access to best technology & products as well as enhancing our understanding of the latest in technology. On the other hand they enhance our product portfolio, and enable us to be one stop shop for our customers.
MANAGEMENT TEAM:
Ajai Chowdhry
Co-Founder HCL, Chairman and CEO - HCL Infosystems. An engineer by training, Ajai Chowdhry is one of the six cofounder members of HCL, India 's premier IT conglomerate. J V Ramamurthy
Chief Operating Officer HCL Infosystems Ltd. J V Ramamurthy has an engineering degree in Electronics & Communications, from Guindy Engineering College, and a Masters' degree in Applied Electronics from the Madras Institute of Technology, echnology, both in Chennai. Rajendra Kumar
Executive Vice President - Frontline Division HCL Infosystems Ltd. Mr. Rajendra Kumar has been with HCL for over 30 years and has seen HCL grow from a startup company to a gigantic conglomerate that it is today.
CORPORATE INFORMATION: BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Chairman & Chief Executive Officer
Ajai Chowdhry Whole-time Director
J.V. Ramamurthy Directors
S. Bhattacharya D.S. Puri R.P. Khosla E.A. Kshirsagar Anita Ramachandran T.S. Purushothaman Purush othaman Narasimhan Jegadeesh V.N. Koura COMPANY SECRETARY
Sushil Kumar Jain
AUDITORS
Price Waterhouse, New Delhi
BANKERS
State Bank of India Canara Bank HDFC Bank Ltd. ICICI Bank Ltd. Societe Generale Standard Chartered Bank State Bank of Patiala State Bank of Saurashtra
REGISTERED OFFICE
806, Siddharth,
96, Nehru Place, New Delhi - 110 019. CORPORATE OFFICE
WORKS
E - 4, 5, 6, Sector XI, Noida - 201 301 (U.P.)
♦ R.S. Nos: 34/4 to 34/7 and part of 34/1, Sedarapet, Puducherry - 605 111. ♦ R.S. Nos: 107/5, 6 & 7, Main Road, Sedarapet, Puducherry - 605 111. ♦ Plot No 78, South Phase, Ambattur Industrial Estate,Chennai - 600 058. ♦ Plot No SPL. A2, Thattanchavadi, Industrial Area, Puducherry - 605 009. ♦ Plot Nos. 1, 2, 27 & 28, Sector 5, 11E, 11E, Rudrapur, Distt. - Udham Singh Nagar, Uttarakhand - 263 145.
WORKING CAPITAL MANAGEMENT CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
g n i c n a n i m f r e t t r o h s & l a t i p a c g n i k r o W s t e s s a t n e r r u c g n i c n a n i F ) s r o t i d e r C ( s e l b a y a p g n i g a n a M t n e m e g a n a m s e l b a v i e c e R t n e m e g a n a m h s a C t n e m e g a n a m y r o t n e v n I n o i t i s o p l a t i p a c g n i k r o W s l a i c n a n i f L C H l a t i p a c g n i k r o w f o s e c r u o S e l c y c l a t i p a c g n i k r o W s t n e m e r i u q e r l a t i p a c g n i k r o w g n i n i m r e t e d s r o t c a F l a t i p a c g n i k r o w f o g n i c n a n i F s d e e n l a t i p a c g n i k r o w f o s e p y T l a t i p a c g n i k r o w f o n o i t a c i f i s s a l C f f o e d a r t n r u t e R – k s i R : y t i l i b a t f i o r p s V y t i d i u q i L t n e m e g a n a m l a t i p a c g n i k r o w f o e c n a c i i n f g i S
INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTI ON TO WORKING CAPITAL
“Worki “Wor king ng Ca Capi pita tall is th thee Li Life fe-B -Blo lood od an and d Co Cont ntrol rolli ling ng Ne Nerv rvee Ce Cent nter er of a business”
The working capital management precisely refers to management of current assets. A firm’s firm’s working capital consists of its investment in current assets, which include short-term assets such as: •
Cash and bank balance,
•
Inventories,
•
Receivables (including debtors and bills),
•
Marketable securities.
Working capital is commonly defined as the difference between current assets and current liabilities.
WORKING CAPITAL = CURRENT ASSETS-CURRENT LIAB ILITIES
There are two major concepts of working capital: • •
Gross working capital Net working capital
Gross working capital: It refers to firm's investment in current assets. Current assets are the assets, which can be converted into cash with in a financial year. The gross working capital points to the need of arranging funds to finance current assets.
Net working capital: It refers to the difference between current assets and current liabilities. Net working capital can be positive or negative. A positive net working capital will arise when current assets exceed current liabilities. And vice-versa for negative net working capital. Net working capital is a qualitative concept. It indicates the liquidity position of the firm and suggests the extent to which working capital needs may be financed by permanent sources of funds. Net working capital also covers the question of judicious mix of long-term and short-term funds fun ds for financing current assets.
Significance Of Working Capital Management
The management of working capital is important for several reasons: •
For one thing, the current assets of a typical manufacturing firm account for half of its total assets. For a distribution company, they account for even more.
•
Working orking capita capitall require requiress continu continuous ous day to day supervi supervision sion.. Working orking capital has the effect on company's risk, return and share prices,
•
There is an inevitable relationship between sales growth and the level of current assets. The target sales level can be achieved only if supported by adequate working capital Inefficient working capital management may lead to insolvency of the firm if it is not in a position to meet its liabilities and commitments.
LIQUIDITY VS PROFITABILITY: RISK - RETURN TRADE OFF OF F
Anoth Another er import importan antt aspe aspect ct of a workin working g capi capital tal po polic licy y is to maint maintain ain and and provid providee suffici sufficient ent liquidit liquidity y to the firm. Like the most corporate corporate financia financiall decisions, the decision on how much working capital be maintained involves a trade off- having a large net working capital may reduce the liquidity risk faced by a firm, but it can have a negative negative effect on the cash flows. Therefore, the net effect on the value of the firm should be used to determine the optimal amount of working capital. Sound working capital involves two fundamental decisions for the firm. They are the determination of: •
The optimal level of investments in current assets.
•
The appropriate appropriate mix of short-term and long-term financing used to support this investment in current assets, a firm should decide whether or not it should use short-term financing. financing. If short-term short-term financing has to be used, the firm must determine its portion in total financing. Short-term financing may be preferred over long-term financing for two reasons:
•
The cost advantage
•
Flexibility
But short-term financing is more risky than long-term financing. Following table will summarize our discussion of short-term versus long-term financing.
Maintaining a policy of short term financing for short term or temporary assets needs (Box 1) and long- term financing for long term or permanent assets needs (Box 3) would comprise a set of moderate risk –profitability strategies. But what one gains by following alternative strategies (like by box 2 or box 4) needs to weighed against what you give up.
CLASSIFICATION OF WORKING CAPITAL Working capital can be classified as follows: •
On the basis of time
•
On the basis of concept
TYPES OF WORKING CAPITAL NEEDS
Another important aspect of working capital management is to analyze the total working capital needs of the firm in order to find out the permanent and temporary working capital. Working capital is required because of existence of operating cycle. The lengthier the operating cycle, greater would be the need for working capital. The operating cycle is a continuous process and therefore, the the work workin ing g capi capita tall is need needed ed cons consta tant ntly ly and and regu regula larl rly y. Howe Howeve verr, the the magnitu magnitude de and quantum quantum of working working capital capital required required w ill il l not be same all a ll the times, rather it will fluctuate.
The need for current assets tends to shift over time. Some of these changes reflect permanent changes in the firm as is the case when the inventory and receivables increases as the firm grows and the sales become higher and higher. Other changes are seasonal, as is the case with increased inventory required for a particular festival season. Still others are random reflecting the uncertainty associated with growth in sales due to firm's specific or general economic factors.
The working capital needs can be bifurcated as: •
Permanent working capital
•
Temporary working capital
Permanent working capital: There is always a minimum level of working capital, which is continuously required by a firm in order to maintain its activities. Every firm must have a minimum of cash, stock and other current assets, this minimum level of current assets, which must be maintained by any firm all the times, is known as permanent working capital for that firm. This amount of working capital is constantly and regularly required in the same way as fixed assets are required. So, it may also be called fixed working capital.
Temporary working capital: Any amoun amountt ov over er and and abov abovee the perma permane nent nt level level of worki working ng capi capital tal is temporary, fluctuating or variable working capital. The position of the required working capital is needed to meet fluctuations in demand consequent upon changes in production and sales as a result of seasonal changes.
The perma permane nent nt level level is const constan antt while while the the tempo temporar rary y workin working g capi capital tal is fluctuating increasing and decreasing in accordance with seasonal demands as shown in the figure. In the case of an expanding firm, the permanent working capital line may not be horizontal. This is because the demand for permanent current assets might be increasing (or decreasing) to support a rising level of activity. In that case line would be rising.
FINANCING OF WORKING CAPITAL
There are two types of working capital requirements as discussed above. They are: •
Permanent or Fixed Working Capital requirements
•
Temporary or Variable Variable Working Capital requirements
Therefore, to finance either of these two working capital requirements, we have long-term as well as short-term sources.
FACTORS DETERMINING WORKING CAPITAL REQUIREMENTS
There are many factors that determine working capital needs of an enterprise. Some of these factors are explained below: •
Nature or Character of Business.
The working capital requirement of a firm is closely related to the nature of its business. A service firm, like an electricity undertaking or a transport corporation, which has a short operating cycle and which sells predominantly on cash basis, has a modest working capital requirement. Oh the other hand, a manufacturing concern like a machine tools unit, which has a long operating cycle and which sells largely on credit, has a very substantial working capital requirement. HCL Infos Infosys ystem temss carry carry on activ activiti ities es relate related d to compu computer ter syste systems ms.. Thou Th ough gh they they are are prim primar aril ily y an asse assemb mbli ling ng firm firm the they also also have have manufacturing facilities in Chennai and Pondicherry. This requires them to keep a very sizeable amount in working capital.
•
Size of Business/Scale of Operations.
HCL HCL is the leader in its segme gment in both consume sumerr as wel well as comm commer erci cial al mark market et shar share. e. Th They ey have have incr increa ease sed d thei theirr shar sharee in the the cons consum umer er segm segmen entt no nota tabl bly y in the the last last four four year years. s. Th This is they they have have
achieved through retail expansion. The scale of operations and the size it
holds in the Indian IT market makes it a must for them to hold their inventory and current asset at a huge level.
•
Rate of Growth of Business.
The rate of growth of sales indicates a need for increase in the working capital requirements of the firm. As the firm is projected to increase their sales by 80% from what it was in 2006, it is required to guard them against the increasing requirements of the net current asset by way of efficient working capital management. The sales and projected sales level determine the investment in inventories and receivables.
HCL
Infosystems
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2381
1967.3
1522.03
Limited PROJECTE D Gross Sales/Income ome from Operations
•
3400
2833
7
Price Level Changes.
Changes in the price level also affect the working capital requirements. It was the reduced margins in the price of the raw materials that had prompted them to go for bulk purchases thus making on additions to thei theirr net net curre current nt assets assets.. They They migh mightt have have go gone ne for for this this larg largee-sc scale ale procurement for availing discounts and anticipating a rise in prices, which would have meant that more funds are required to maintain the same current assets.
WORKING CAPITAL CYCLE
The upper portion of the diagram above shows in a simplified form the chain of events in a manufacturing firm. Each of the boxes in the upper part of the diagram can be seen as a tank through which funds flow. These tanks, which are concerned with day-to-day activities, have funds constantly flowing into and out of them.
•
The chain starts with the firm buying raw materials on credit.
•
In due course this stock will be used in production, work will be carried out on the stock, and it will become part of the firm’s work-in-progress.
•
Work will continue on the WIP until it eventually emerges as the finished product.
•
As production progresses, labor costs and overheads need have to be met.
•
Of course at some stage trade creditors will need to be paid.
•
When the finished goods are sold on credit, debtors are increased.
•
They will eventually pay, so that cash will be injected into the firm.
Each of the areas- Stock (raw materials, WIP, and finished goods), trade debtors, cash (positive or negative) and trade creditors – can be viewed as tanks into and from which funds flow. Working capital is clearly not the only aspect of a business that affects the amount of cash.
•
•
The business will have to make payments to government for taxation.
•
Fixed assets will be purchased and sold
•
Lessors of fixed assets will be paid their rent
Shareholders (existing or new) may provide new funds in the form of cash
•
Some shares may be redeemed for cash
•
Dividends may be paid
•
Long-term loan creditors (existing or new) may provide loan finance, loans will need to be repaid from time-to-time, and
•
Interest obligations will have to be met by the business
Unlike, movements in the working capital items, most of these ‘non-working capital’ cash transactions are not every day events. Some of them are annual events (e.g. tax payments, lease payments, dividends, interest and, possibly, fixed asset purchases and sales). Others (e.g. new equity and loan finance and redemption of old equity and loan finance) would typically be rarer events.
SOURCES OF WORKING CAPITAL HCL Infosystems has the following sources available for the fulfillment of its working capital requirements in order to carry on its operations smoothly: •
Banks:
These include the following banks – • • • • • • • •
•
State Bank of India Canara Bank HDFC Bank Ltd. ICICI Bank Ltd. Societe Generale Standard Chartered Bank State Bank of Patiala State Bank of Saurashtra
Commercial Papers:
Commercial Papers have become an important tool for financing working capital requirements of a company. Commercial Paper is an unsecured promissory note issued by the company to raise short-term funds. The buyers of the commercial paper include banks, insurance companies, unit trusts, and companies with surplus funds to invest for a short period with minimum risk. HCL issues Commercial Papers and had 4000 commercial papers in the year 2006.
HCL FINANCIALS:
CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE
WORKING CAPITAL POSITION :
CURRENT ASSET – TOTAL ASSET
PARTICULARS
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
CURRENT
100970
81533
54091
45042
55985
7970 122479 82.44
5329 99139 82.24
4925 4954 87076 71285 62.12 63.18
5552 75205 74.43
ASSETS NET BLOCK TOTAL ASSETS CA/TA
The current asset percentage on total asset is the highest over the years. This increasing percentage of current assets to the total assets at first might indicate a preference for liquidity in place of profitability, profitability, but a look into the nature of the business carried on by HCL Infosystems reveal the reason behind it. How far their preference to current assets has affected the sales is shown below.
NET CURRENT ASSET – SALES PARTICULARS
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
NET CURRENT ASSETS SALES WORKING
40343
34742
14301
18752
27065
238136 16.12
199886 142.93
154295 -23.736
166604 -30.7
127003 -0.46
CAPITAL % INCREASE SALES % INCREASE
19.14
29.54
-7.38
31.18
8.7
The sales has increased and the profits risen despite the 16.12% increase in working capital. But what is noteworthy here is that the firm has managed to maintain the trend of an increase in net current assets. Whether the change has worked for the company has to be analysed in the context of the growth in sales as compared to the previous year. There has been a 19.14% rise in the sales or revenue generated. This would automatically suggest towards a very efficient working capital management where the assets of the firm which are short-term in nature have been utilized optimally in connection to their fixed assets. The firm has gone towards such a dramatic shift in their working capital position might be because of the tremendous growth witnessed in the domestic IT market.
CURRENT ASSET – FIXED ASSET PARTICULARS
2006
2005
NET CA/NET BLOCK
5.062:1
6.519:1
2004
2.903:1
2003
2002
3.785:1
4.875:1
The ratio of the net current asset to the fixed ones is an indicator as to the liquidity position of the firm. This ratio has declined for the firm compared to the previous year. There could be an argument as to whether the increased ratio of working capital to net block is a conservative policy and whether it would be detrimental to the interest of the company. Or, whether it would have been proper if the company invested more into the capital expenditure in the form of plant and machinery or invested in any other form that would have got them an internal rate of return. What has to be kept in mind before coming to a conclusion as to the policy of the company, is the fact that the firm being primarily into assembling, its investment in the fixed asset segment need not be high. A look into the capacity utilization of the plant would reaffirm this point. It would be ideal for the firm to continue in the same line and not have excessive investment in the fixed asset as they can easily add onto this part.
COMPUTER and MICRO PROCESSOR BASED SYSTEMS YEAR
INSTALLED CAPACITY
ACTUAL PRODUCTION
% CAPACITY UTILIZATION
2006 2005 2004
1150000 600000 525000
581805 448121 295192
50.59 74.69 56.23
DAT DA TA GRAPHIC/DISPLAY GR APHIC/DISPLAY MONITOR/TERMINALS/H MONITOR/ TERMINALS/HUBS UBS YEAR
INSTALLED CAPACITY
ACTUAL PRODUCTION
% CAPACITY UTILIZATION
2006
250000
267326
106.93
250000 350000
2005 2004
259617 297991
103.85 85.14
That the fixed assets of the firm are being put to efficient use and the firm is trying for optimum capacity utilization is something that can be easily deduced. Whether the current assets or the working capital of the firm has anything to do with it is for us to see. An increased production in normal circumstances means better raw material to finished goods conversion rate, i.e. the firm is taking less of time in the production process and this happens when the current asset employed in relation with the fixed ones are at optimum. The other notable feature here is that though the firm has added on to its installed capacity in all three years, they were still able to increase the capacity utilization. That they have been able to do it shows that the more current assets, especially inventory used in relation to the fixed assets, i.e., plant and machinery and their management has only helped in increasing their utilization to the maximum.
CURRENT ASSET – CURRENT LIABILITY
PARTICULARS
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
CURRENT ASSETS CURRENT LIABILITES % CURRENT ASSETS INCREASE %CURRENT LIABILITES INCREASE
100970 60627 23.84
81533 46791 50.7
54091 39790 20.09
45042 26290 -19.54
55985 28920 8.9
29.57
17.6
51.35
-9.1
19.45
The 16.12% increase in Net Current assets despite of the fact that there has been an increase in the Current Assets by 23.84% and increase in Current Liability has been by 29.57% over that of the previous year has to be attributed to the fact that in 2005, the company showed such a high increase in CA, that it is still being offset. This is an indication as to the expanding operations of the firm. HCL has increased its current assets in order to meet the increasing sales.
The firm’s level of liquidity being high, we need a check on whether it affects the return on assets.
INVENTORY MANAGEMENT
Inventories
Inventories constitute the most important part of the current assets of large majority of companies. On an average the inventories are approximately 60% of the current assets in public limited companies in India. Because of the large size of inve invento ntorie riess main maintai taine ned d by the firms firms,, a cons conside idera rable ble amou amount nt of funds funds is commi committe tted d to them. them. It is ther therefo efore re,, imper imperati ative ve to mana manage ge the inven invento torie riess efficiently and effectively in order to avoid unnecessary investment.
Nature of Inventories Inventories are stock of the product of the company is manufacturing for sale and components make up of the product. The various forms of the inventories in the manufacturing companies are: •
Raw Material: It is the basic input that is converted into the finished
product through the manufacturing process. Raw materials are those units which have been purchased and stored for future production. •
Work-in-progress : Invent Inventorie oriess are semi-ma semi-manufa nufactu ctured red produc products. ts. They They
represent product that need more work they become finished products for sale. •
Fini Fi nish shed ed Go Good odss: Inve Invent ntor orie iess are are thos thosee comp comple lete tely ly manu manufa fact ctur ured ed
products which are ready for sale. Stocks of raw materials and work-in progress facilitate production, while stock of finished goods is required for for smoot smooth h marke marketi ting ng op opera erati tion ons. s. Thus, Thus, inve invento ntorie riess serve serve as a link link between the production and consumption of goods.
Inventory Management Techniques In managing inventories, the firm’s objective should be to be in consonance with the shareholder wealth maximization principle. To achieve this, the firm shoul should d deter determin minee the the op optim timum um leve levell of inven invento tory ry.. Effic Efficie ient ntly ly cont contro rolle lled d invento inventorie riess make make the firm flexible flexible.. Ineffici Inefficient ent invento inventory ry control control results results in unbalanced inventory and inflexibility-the firm may sometimes run out of stock and sometimes pile up unnecessary stocks. •
Economic Order Quantity (EOQ): The major problem to be resolved
is ho how w much much the the inve invent ntor ory y shou should ld be adde added d when when inve invent ntor ory y is replenished. If the firm is buying raw materials, it has to decide lots in which it has to purchase on replenishment. If the firm is planning a production run, the issue is how much production to schedule. These problems are called order quantity problems, and the task of the firm is to determine the optimum or economic lot size. Determine an optimum level involves two types of costs:•
Ordering Costs: This term is used in case of raw material and
includes all the cost of acquiring raw material. They include the costs incurred in the following activities: ♠
Requisition
♠
Purchase Ordering
♠
Transporting
♠
Receiving
♠
Inspecting
♠
Storing
Ordering cost increase with the number of orders placed; thus the more more frequ frequen ently tly inve invento ntory ry is acqu acquire ired, d, the the highe higherr the firm’ firm’ss order orderin ing g costs. costs. On the other other hand hand,, if the the firm firm maint maintain ainss large large inventory’s level, there will be few orders placed and ordering
costs will be relatively small. Thus, ordering costs decrease with the increasing size of inventory.
•
Carryin Carr ying g Costs Cos ts: Costs are incurred for maintaining a given level
of inventory are called carrying costs. These include the following activities: ♠
Warehousing Cost
♠
Handling
♠
Administrative cost
♠
Insurance
♠
Deterioration and obsolescence
Carrying costs are varying with inventory size. This behavior is contrary to that of ordering costs which decline with increase in inventory inventory size. The economic economic size of inventory would thus depend on trade-off between carrying costs and ordering cost.
Composition
2006
2005
2004
Raw Material Stores and Spares Finished Goods Work-in-progress
6349 3713 13374 595
7749 2987 7245 784
6127 2622 6506 871
The increasing component of raw materials in inventory is due to the fact that that the the comp compan any y has has go gone ne for for bu bulk lk pu purc rcha hase sess and and has has incr increa ease sed d consumption due to a fall in prices and reduced margins for the year. Another reason might be the increasing sales, which might have induced them to purchase more in anticipation of a further increase in demand of the product. And the low low comp omposi osition ion of wor work-in -in-prog rogress ess is
understandable as because of the nature of the business firm is involved in. To the qu ques estio tion n as to wheth whether er the the incre increasi asing ng costs costs in inven invento tory ry are justified by the returns from it the answer could be found in the HCL retail expansion. HCL caters to the need of the two separate segments:
a) Institutions Institutions for for which they manufactu manufacture re against against orders orders and, and, b) Retail Retail segme segment nt of of the the marke market. t. They are more into retail than earlier and at present more than 650 retail outlets branded with HCL sign ages and more are in the pipeline The company in order to meet its raw materials requirements could have gone for frequent purchases, which would have resulted in lesser cash flows flows for the firm firm rath rather er than than the high high expe expend nditu iture re invol involve ved d when when procuring in at bulk. The reason why the firm has gone for these bulk purch purchase asess beca because use of the the lower lower marg margins ins and and the disco discoun unts ts it avail availed ed because of procuring in bulk quantities. A negative growth in WIP could be because: a) The time taken taken to convert convert raw materi materials als to finished finished goods goods is very minimal b) This is also also due to to capacity capacity being being not utilized utilized at at the optimum. optimum.
ABC System: ABC system of inventory keeping is followed in the factories. Various items are categorized into three different levels in the order of their importance. For e.g. items such as memory, high capacity processors and royalty are placed in the ‘A’ category. Large number of firms has to maintain several types of inventories. It is not desirable the same degree of control all the items. The firm should pay maximum atte attent ntio ion n to thos thosee item itemss whos whosee valu valuee is high highes est. t. Th Thee firm firm shou should ld therefore, therefore, classify inventories to identify which items should receive the
most effort in controlling. The firm should be selective in approach to cont contro roll inves investme tment nt in vari variou ouss type typess of inve invento ntori ries. es. This This anal analyt ytica icall approach is called “ABC Analysis”. The high-value items are classified as “A items” and would be under tightest control. “C items” represent relatively least value and would require simple control. “ B items” fall in bet betwe ween en the the two two cate catego gori ries es and and requ requir iree reas reason onab able le atte attent ntio ion n of management.
JIT: The relevance of JIT in HCL Info system can be questioned. This is
because they procure materials on the basis of projections made at least two or three months before. Even at the time of procurement they ensure that they procure much more than what actually is required by the firm that is they hold significant amount of inventory as safety stock. This is done to counter the thr threat inv nvo olved in defa efault ult and acciden dental breakdowns. The levels of safety stock usually vary according to the usage.
Conversion Periods Raw Material
Particulars
2006
2005
2004
Raw Material Consumption Raw Material Consumption/day Raw Material Inventory Raw Material Holding Days
121077 332 7072 21
97971.31 268.41 6960.275 25.93
57775.14 158.28 4364.735 27.57
The raw material conversion period or the raw material holding cost has reduced from 26 to 21. This is despite an increase in its consumption. This indicates that the firm is able to convert the raw material at its disposal to the work-in-progress at a lesser time as compared to the last year. It would be to the benefit of the firm to reduce the production process and increase the conversion rate still as the firm is required to meet the increasing demand.
Work-in-progress Particulars
2006
2005
2004
Cost of Production Cost of Production/day Work in progress inventory WIP Holding days
191911 525.78 689.5 1.31
159651.19 437.4 827.52 1.89
113500.33 310.95 679.455 2.19
The work-in-progress holding time is important for a firm in the sense that it determines determines the rate of time at which the production production process will be complete or the finished goods will be ready for disposal by the firm. The firm as it is in the process of assembling should take the least possible time in conversion to finished goods unlike a hard core manufacturing firm, as any firm would like to have its inventory in the work-in-progress at the minimum. There would also be less of stock out costs as due to better conversion rates the firm is able to meet the rise in demand situations. More the time it spends lesser its efficiency would be in the market. Here the firm has been able to bring down its WIP conversion periods.
Finished Goods Particulars
2006
2005
20004
Cost of goods sold
228177
124768.92
Cost of goods sold/day Finished goods inventory Finished goods inventory Holding days
625 10310 16
178438.8 5 488.87 6875.725 14.06
341.832 5026.505 14.8
The time taken for the firm to realize its finished goods as sales has increased as compared to last year. This growth in sales could be traced back to the growing domestic IT market for the commercial as consumer segment in India. HCL has around 15% of the market in desktop and it is the market leader in this segment. So it is only natural that they are able to better their conversion rate of finished goods to sales.
Operating Cycle Particulars
2006
2005
2004
Inventory conversion period Average collection period Gross operating cycle Average payment period Operating cycle
38 70 108 22 86
42 63 105 23 82
45 66 111 17 94
The operating cycle of the firm reveals the days within which the inventory procured gets converted to sales or revenue for the firm. This time period is of importance to the firm as a lag here could significantly affect the profitability, liquidity, credit terms, and the policies of the firm. All the firms would like to reduce it to such extend that their cash inflows are timely enough to meet their obligations and support the operations. That the firm has been able to reduce the
ratio is in itself an achievement as they were having huge stocks of inventory. But the reduction in the cycle could also be attributed to the boom in the market and the growth it is expected to reach. This boom automatically ensures the demand for the finished goods and thus helping in it to garner sales for the firm.
Raw Material Consumption Particulars
2006
2005
2004
Imported
92007
42129.63
Indigenous
29070
% Imports
75.99
70784.2 7 27187.0 4 72.25
15645.51 72.92
A major chunk of the imports come from Korea and Taiwan and is purchased in US$. The value of imported and indigenous raw material consumed give a clear picture that if there is a change in the EXIM policy of the government it is bound to affect the company adversely as more than 70% of their consumption is from imports. But this is the scenario witnessed in the industry as a whole and though HCL is into expanding its operation to Uttaranchal it in the present state is would be affected by a change in the import duty structure. A major chunk of their current assets are in the form of inventory and the change in technology will invariably be a threat faced by the firm. The question of technology applying here like says a certain device going say out of fashion or outdated. For e.g. TFT monitors being in demand more than CRT.
CASH MANAGEMENT SOURCES OF CASH:
Sources of additional working capital include the following: •
Existing cash reserves
•
Profits (when you secure it as cash!)
•
Payables (credit from suppliers)
•
New equity or loans from shareholders
•
Bank overdrafts or lines of credit.
•
Long-term loans
If you have insufficient working capital and try to increase sales, you can easily easily over-s over-stret tretch ch the financ financial ial resour resources ces of the busine business. ss. This This is called called overtrading. Early warning signs include: •
Pressure on existing cash
•
Exceptional cash generating activities e.g. offering high discounts for early cash payment
•
Bank overdraft exceeds authorized limit.
•
Seeking greater overdrafts or lines of credit
•
Part-paying suppliers or other creditors
•
Paying bills in cash to secure additional supplies
•
Management pre-occupation with surviving rather than managing
•
Frequent short-term emergency requests to the bank (to help pay wages, pending receipt of a cheque).
CASH MANAGEMENT IN HCL INFOSYSTEMS:
The cash management system followed by the HCL Infosystems is mainly lock box system.
Cash Management System involves the following steps: 1. The The branc ranch h offi office cess of the the comp compan any y at vari variou ouss loca locati tion onss ho hold ld the the collection of cheques of the customers. 2. Those cheques cheques are are either handed handed over over to the the CMS agencies agencies or bank bank of the the particular location take charge of whole collection. 3. These CMS agencies agencies or or bank send send those cheques cheques to the clearing clearing house to make them realized. These cheques can be local or outstation. 4. The CMS agenc agencies ies or bank send send informa informatio tion n to the the centr central al hub of the company regarding realization/cheque bounced. 5. The central central hub hub passes passes on the realized realized funds funds to the company company as per the agreed agreements. 6. The CMS agenci agencies es or concerned concerned bank bank provide providess the necessary necessary MIS to the company as per requirement. In cash management the collect float taken for the cheques to be realized into cash cash is irre irrele leva vant nt and and no nonn-in inte terf rfer erin ing g beca becaus usee bank bankss such such as Stan Standa dard rd Chartered, HDFC and CitiBank who give credit on the basis of these cheques after charging charging a very small amount. These credits are given to immediately immediately and the maximum time taken might be just a day. The amount they charge is very low and this might cover the threat of the cheque sent in by two or three customers bouncing. Even otherwise the time taken for the cheques to be processed is instantaneous. Their Cash Management System is quite efficient.
Cash-Current Liability Particulars
Absolute Liquid Ratio
2006 0.24:1
2005 0.31:1
2004 0.11:1
The absolute absolute liquid ratio is the best for three three years and the cash cash balances as to the current liability has improved for the firm. Firm has large resources in cash and bank balances. While large resources in cash and bank balances may seem to affect the revenue the firm could have earned by investing it elsewhere as maintenance of current assets as cash and in near cash assets and marketable securities may increase the liquidity position but not the revenue or profit earning capacity of the firm.
Dividend Policy-Cash Particulars
2004
2005
2006
Dividend Policy% Shift in Sales Cash Balance Cash in Hand
210 154295 4463.43 118.33
310 199886 14582.65 128.97
400 238136 14529.29 128.97
The other notable feature in HCL statements has been the growing dividend policy of the firm. The payment of dividend means a cash outflow. Thus cash position is an important criterion at the time of paying dividends. There is a theory that greater the cash position and ability to pay dividends. The firm has adopted a policy of disbursing disbursing the revenue earned as profits to the shareholders shareholders as dividends as could be seen from the increasing % of dividends declared.
Particulars
2006
2005
2004
PBIDT Equity Dividend%
14284 400
15634 310
14523 210
This could mean two things for the firm the amount of cash retained in the business for capital expenditure purposes are minimal or nil. But rather than investing more in plant and machine which they can at any point in time by adding on a additional line if need they would like to optimize their utilization in fixed assets at present. This also means that the percentage of cash in hand maintained by the firm as a source of liquidity could be reduced, i.e. the amount
of idle cash in the business could be made to a level which the firm feels optimum. The firm feels that they should retain cash and it would be in the interest of the firm as well as the shareholders. This would automatically mean as decrease in Earning/share (EPS)(Basic EPS declined from 8 in 2005 to 6.74 in 2006). It would prompt more of investors being interested in the shares of the company, which which would would bo boos ostt the the pu purch rchase ase of the secu securit rities ies and and incr increas easee the the marke markett price/share thus being beneficial for the firm.
Cash Flows Cash Flows
2006
2005
Net Cash from Operating activities Net Cash from Investing activities Net Cash from Financing activities
6924 -3515 -3512
2675.57 15661.29 -8217.68
2004
13706.34 -2169.16 -11412.1
The firm has disposed of investments worth around 655 Crores to meet its growing needs. The other notable feature is decline is the firm’s inflows from operations primarily due to the reason that the cash generated from the operations is the lowest in three years. And the firm’s growing dividend policy has contributed to the outflows in financing activities.
Cash Flow in Operating Activities
Working Capital Changes Working Capital Changes
2006
2005
2004
Trade and other receivables Inventories Trade Payables and other Liabilities
-14166 -5221 13026
-14510.69 -2683.92 6419.13
-7106.68 -7221.11 14311.5
The cash from the operation operation has been subject to considerable change due to the changes that could be adjusted towards trade receivables and trade payables. The outflows in inventory have become as low as 37% of what it was last year despite an increase in the inventory consumption by 16.64%. The resulting reduc reducti tion on in the the cash cash ou outfl tflows ows might might be beca because use of the the inven invento torie riess being being proc procur ured ed more more on cred credit. it. That That the the cash cash from from opera operatio tions ns has has decli decline ned d has has affected the current liability index of the firm.
Cash Flow in Investing I nvesting Activities Investments in Mutual Funds
2006
2005
2004
Investments (year end) Purchase of Investment Disposal/Redemption of Investment
13539 -65992 65312
12277.44 -53075.99 65489.84
28059.88 -59249.81 52087.36
The investments have reduced from the last year due to the redemption of investments taken place to meet various needs such as increasing demand in stock or inventory and to ensure better credit and receivables policy. We can see that the firm has in these three years increased their cash inflow from the investing investing activities by way of disposal of investments investments when in need. That is the firm has redeemed to realize cash as to meet its expanding operations, fund the inventory procurement and meet the obligations. The investments in mutual funds are beneficial to the firm in the context that they contain interest bearing securities securities which add up as a source of revenue for the firm unlike cash which remains idle and unproductive when not in use. This reduction of dividend could be attributed to disposal of investments in mutual funds and subsidiary. This disposal creates a fund, which can be used by the company as and when the need arises.
Cash vs. Marketable Securities
The investment in marketable securities rather than having large cash balances in something that has been given thought for by the firm. This is because while a firm gets revenue in the form of interests by investments, it actually has to pays certain amount money to the banks for maintaining current accounts and fixed deposits usually have a longer maturity period. That is, the problem with high investments is that the opportunity to earn is lost, thus a firm has to maintain an optimal cash balance. But the investment in mutual funds or other marketable securities might create a problem of investment, as they might not be readily realizable as say liquid cash or the amount deposited in the current account. The investments in say fixed assets say may earn a fixed rate of interest but they have a maturity period attached to them. In HCL, Standard Chartered is the concentration bank in which all the inflows from the deposit banks are concentrated and passed on to the disbursement banks for further disbursement.
Liquid Cash Balance
The liquid cash maintained in the business is only that much as is required to satisfy the daily requirements of the firm and not more. The rest of the cash is invested into mutual funds and also held in fixed deposits and current accounts.
Instruments Used
The instrument used here are primarily cheques comprising of around 97% of what is used in. The rest 2-3% comprise of the letters of credit. Thus working capital is the lifeline for every business. The main advantages of sufficient working capital are: •
It helps in prompt payment
•
Ensures high solvency in the company and good credit standing.
•
Regular supply of material and continuous production.
•
Ensures regular payment of salaries and wages and day to day commitments.
RECEIVABLES RECEIVABL ES MANAGEMENT
Cash flow can be significantly enhanced if the amounts owing to a business are collected faster. Every business needs to know.... who owes them money.... how much is owed.... how long it is owing.... for what it is owed.
Late payments erode profits and can lead to bad debts.
Slow Slow payme payment nt has has a crip crippli pling ng effec effectt on bu busin siness ess;; in part particu icula larr on small small businesses whom can least afford it. If you don't manage debtors, they will begin begin to manag managee yo your ur bu busi sine ness ss as yo you u wi ll gradu gradual ally ly lose lose contr control ol due to reduced cash flow and, of course, you could experience an increased incidence of bad debt.
The following measures will help manage your debtors: 1.
Have the right mental attitude to the control of credit and make sure that it gets the priority it deserves.
2. Establish clear credit credit practices practices as a matter of company company policy policy. 3.
Make sure that these practices are clearly understood by staff, suppliers and customers.
4. Be professional professional when when accepting accepting new new accounts, accounts, and especially especially larger larger ones. ones.
5.
Check out each customer thoroughly before you offer credit. Use credit agencies, bank references, industry sources etc.
6. Establish Establish credit credit limits limits for for each custome customerr and stick to to them. 7. Cont Contin inuo uous usly ly revi review ew thes thesee limi limits ts when when yo you u susp suspec ectt toug tough h time timess are are coming or if operating in a volatile sector. 8. Keep very very close close to your your large largerr custome customers. rs. 9. Invoice Invoice promptl promptly y and and clear clearly ly.. 10.Consider charging penalties on overdue accounts. 11.Consider accepting credit /debit cards as a payment option. 12.Monitor your debtor balances and aging schedules, and don't let any debts get too old.
Recognize that the longer someone owes you, the greater the chance you will never get paid. If the average age of your debtors is getting longer, or is already very long, you may need to look for the following possible possible defects. •
Poor collection procedures.
•
Lax enforcement of credit terms.
•
Slow issue of invoices or statements.
•
Errors in invoices or statements.
•
Customer dissatisfaction.
•
Weak credit judgement.
Debtors due over 90 days (unless within agreed credit terms) should generally demand immediate attention. Look for the warning signs of a future bad debt. For example….. 1. Longer credit credit terms terms taken with approval, approval, particularly for smaller smaller orders. orders. 2. Use of post-dated post-dated checks checks by debtors who normally settle within agreed terms. terms. 3. Evidence Evidence of customers customers switching switching to addition additional al suppliers suppliers for the same goods. goods. 4. New custome customers rs who are reluct reluctant ant to give give credit credit reference references. s. 5. Receiving Receiving part payments payments from from debtors. debtors.
Profits only come from paid sales.
The act of collecting money is one, which most people dislike for many reasons and therefore put on the long finger because they convince themselves that there is something more urgent or important that demand their attention now. There is nothing more important than getting paid for your product or service. A customer customer who does not pay is not a customer.
HERE ARE FEW WA WAYS IN COLLECTING MONEY FROM DEBTORS: •
Develop appropriate procedures for handling late payments.
•
Track and pursue late payers
•
Get external help if you own efforts fail.
•
Don’t feel guilty asking for money .. its yours and you are entitled to it.
•
Make that call now. And keep asking until you get some satisfaction.
•
In difficult circumstances, take what you can now and agree terms for the remainder, remainder, it lessens the problem.
•
When asking for your money, be hard on the issue – but soft on the person. Don’t give the debtor any excuses for not paying.
•
Make that your objective is to get the money, money, not to score points or get even.
RECEIVABLES MANAGEMENT IN HCL INFOSYSTEMS:
PARTICULARS
2 00 6
2 0 05
20 04
2 00 3
DEBTORS TURNOVER RATIO
5 .21
5 .80
5.53
6.62
AVERAGE COLLECTION PERIOD
70
63
66
55
A better turnover ratio implies for the firm, more efficiency in converting the accounts receivable to cash. A firm firm with very high turnover ratio can take the freedom of holding very little balances in cash, as their debtors are easily realizable. In case of HCL, the collection period for the firm is 70 days.
PARTICULARS
2006
2005
2004
PROVISION FOR DOUBTFUL DEBTS(CASH FLOW)
3
49.85
25
DEBTS DOUBTFUL(EXCEEDING 6 MONTHS)
47
134.09
69.8
The debts doubtful have doubled but their percentage on the debts has almost become half. This implies a sales and collection policy that get along with the receivables management of the firm.
COLLECTION POLICIES:
It refers to the collection procedures such as letters, phone calls and other follow up mechanism to recover the amount due from the customers. It is obvious that costs are incurred towards the collection efforts, efforts, but bad debts as well as average collection period would decrease. Further, Further, a strict collection policy of the firm is expensive for the firm because of the high cost is required to be incurred by the firm and it may also result in loss of goodwill. But at the same time it minimizes the loss on account of bad debts. Therefore, a firm has to strike a balance between the cost and benefits associated with collection policies. The steps usually followed in collection efforts are: •
Sending repeated letters and reminders to the customers
•
Personal visits
•
Using agencies involved in collection process
•
Making telephonic reminders
•
Initiating legal actions
•
Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS)
Real Time Time Gross Settlement as such is a concept new in nature and though the firm uses the system with all the members of the consortium, it is still s till in its primal stage and will take time before all of the clients of the firm are willing to accept it. The firm has made a proposal to the consortium of the banks during appraisal for faster implementation implementation of internet based banking facility by all the banks and adoption of RTGS payment system through net.
The debtor’s turnover ratio is completely dependent upon the credit policy followed by the firm. The credit policy followed by the firm should be such that the threat of bad debts and the default rate involved should be terminated.
PARTICULARS
2 00 6
20 05
2 004
2 00 3
CREDITORS TURNOVER RATIO
16.44
15.68
21.29
21.14
PAYMENT PERIOD
22
23
17
16
That the creditors turnover ratio has declined and payment period has increased indicate that the company has got a leeway in making the payment to the creditors by way of increased time. With With creditors they are having pre-agreements and have undertaken arrangements with them, which they believe to be the best in the business and these are fixed. (NOTE: Acceptances Acceptances are not included in the computation of creditors turnover)
MANAGING PAYABLES (Creditors)
Creditors are a vital part of effective cash management and should be managed carefully to enhance the cash position.
Purchasing initiates cash outflows and an over-zealous purchasing function can create liquidity problems.
Consider the following: •
Who authorizes purchasing in your company - is it tightly managed or spread among a number of (junior) people?
•
Are purchase quantities geared to demand forecasts?
•
Do yo you u use use orde orderr qu quan anti titi ties es,, whic which h take take acco accoun untt of stoc stock k ho hold ldin ing g and and purchasing costs?
•
Do you know the cost to the company co mpany of carrying stock?
•
Do you have alternative sources of supply? If not, get quotes from major suppliers and shop around for the best discounts, credit terms as it reduces dependence on a single supplier.
•
How many of your suppliers have a return policy?
•
Are you in a position to pass on cost increases quickly through price increases
to your customers? •
If a supplier of goods or services lets you down can you charge back the cost of the delay?
•
Can you arrange (with confidence!) to have delivery of supplies staggered or on a just-in-time basis?
There is an old adage in business that "if you can buy well then you can sell well". Management of your creditors and suppliers is just as important as the
management of your debtors. It is important to look after your creditors- slow payment by you may create ill feeling and can signal that your company is inefficient inefficient (or in trouble!). Remember that a good supplier is someone who will work with you to enhance the future viability and profitability of your company.
Financing Current Assets The firm has to decide about the sources of funds, which can be availed to make investment in current assets. Long term financing:
It includes ordinary share capital, preference share capital, debentures, long term borrowings from financial institutions and reserves and surplus. Short term financing:
It is for a period less than one year and includes working capital funds from banks, public deposits, commercial paper etc. Spontaneous financing:
It refers to automatic sources of short-term funds arising in normal course of business. There is no explicit cost associated with it. For example, Trade Credit and Outstanding Expenses etc.
Depending on the mix of short and long term financing, the company can follow any of the following approaches.
Matching Approach
In this, the firm follows a financial plan, which matches the expected life of assets with the expected life of source of funds raised to finance assets. When the firm
follows this approach, long term financing will be used to finance fixed assets and permanent current assets and short term financing to finance temporary or variable current assets. Conservative Approach
In this, the firm finances its permanent assets and also a part of temporary current assets with long term financing. In the periods when the firm has no need for temporary current assets, the long-term funds can be invested in tradable securities to conserve liquidity. In this the firm has less risk of facing the problem of shortage of funds. Aggressive Approach
In this, the firm uses more short term financing than warranted by the matching plan. Under an aggressive plan, the firm finances a part of its current assets with short term financing. Relatively more use of short term financing makes the firm more risky.
Current asset to fixed asset ratio:
The financial manager should determine the optimum level of current assets so that the wealth of shareholders is maximized. A firm needs fixed and current assets to support a particular level of output.
The level of current assets can be measured by relating current assets. Dividing current assets by fixed assets gives CA/FA ratio. Assuming a constant level of fixed assets, a higher CA/FA ratio indicates a conservative current assets policy and a lower CA/FA ratio means an aggressive current assets policy assuming other factors to be constant. A conservative policy i.e. higher CA/FA ratio implies greater liquidity and lower risk; while an aggressive policy i.e. lower CA/FA ratio indicates higher risk and poor liquidity. The current assets policy of the most firms may fall between these two extreme policies. The alternative current assets policies may be shown with the help of the following figure. figure.
In this figure the most conservative policy is indicated by alternative A, where as CA/F CA/FA A ratio ratio is great greatest est at every every level level of output output.. Alter Alternat native ive C is the the most most aggressive policy, as CA/FA ratio is lowest at all levels of output. Alternative B lies between the conservative and aggressive policies and is an average policy.
WORKING CAPITAL & SHORT-TERM FINANCING
CONSORTIUM BASED FINANCING
Current Working Capital Limits NAME OF THE BANK STATE BANK OF INDIA ICICI BANK HDFC BANK STANDARD CHARTERED BANK STATE BANK OF SAURASHTRA STATE BANK OF PATIALA CANARA BANK SOCIETE GENERALE HSBC BANK TOTAL
FUND BASED
3600 1282 1200 1200 715 1300 1203 1000 1000 12500
NON-FUND BASED
46000 19000 10000 19000 7500 7700 6000 4000 18300 137500
In order to finance the working capital needs of the firm in the form of Working Working Capital Demand Loan, there is a consortium of nine banks. The consortium if banks provide a fund based limit of 125 Crores which comprises of cash credit and working capital demand loans and non-fund based limits which has bank gurantee and letter of credit subject to a limit of 1375 Crores. The Lead Bank in this
consortium of banks is State Bank of India and the second lead bank is ICICI. It is SBI, which fixes the limit on the basis of consortium. They, They, in consultation of the company decide the allocation of limit to various member banks. The allocation cannot be higher than the limits fixed by it. SBI is the biggest contributor in the consortium for both fund and non-fund based limits with about
31.30 in funds and 34.02 in non-fund limits . The ratio of both limits for the year 2006 is 0.23:0.77
It is on the basis of the accounts receivable that the banks come to an agreement with regards to the limits imposed. Though it is the fund based limits that finance the working capital requirements, the non-fund based limits are important i mportant for the management of the working capital as there might be clients who are not willing to sell on open credit and might be demanding letters of credit before any advances.
RENEWAL OF LIMITS LIMITS FUND BASED NON FUND BASED TOTAL
2006 11500 4 8 5 00 60000
2005 11500 38 500 50000
2004 11500 2 85 00 40000
All banks sanction the limits for a period of one year. year. Thereafter it is to be renewed every year. year. SBI appraises the limit on the basis of consortium. The individual banks appraise for their own individual limit. The non fund based limits of the firm in consortium financing has been subjected to change for the past two years as per the requirements of the firm and the consent of the lead bank to its proposal. It was around 385 Crores in 2005 and had been risen to around 485 Crores in 2006.
A proposal has been made by the firm to further appraise the limits by 100 Crores to 585 Crores in view of the growing operations of the firm with full interchangeability interchangeability between letter of credit and bank guarantee limits for operational flexibility. flexibility. Allocation Allocation of the fund based and non based limits among the banks based on operational convenience convenience rather than allocating the fund based and non fund based on the same ratio is also among the proposals made by the firm. The company needs to provide the following information to bank for appraisals:
•
Credit Monitoring Appraisal
•
Write Up on company
•
Share holding pattern
•
List of the directors
CONSORTIUM MEETING :
All the members of the consortium are required to meet to discuss various issues relating to the working facilities. As per RBI guidelines, the lead bank, i.e., SBI should ensure that one consortium meeting is held every quarter snd this meeting has to be arranged by HCL.
DOCUMENTATION DOCUMENTA TION and JOINT DOCUMENTA DOCUMENTATION: TION:
There are various documents that need to be signed at the time of renewal or inducting any bank to the consortium. The various documents are as follows: •
Loan agreement
•
Hypothecation Hypothecation agreement for movable machinery
•
Hypothecation Hypothecation agreement for movables and book debts
•
Counter Indemnity
The above are the standard agreements asked for by the banks. The common seal has to be witnessed by the company secretary and one of the directors of the company. As of 2005, no additions or deletions were made to the consortium of the banks. But over the years the number of banks in the consortium have been reduced. Indian Banks and State Bank of Hyderabad are the two banks which were earlier a part of the consortium.
Joint Documentation is executed between the company and the consortium of banks for the working capital facilities extended by the consortium to the company. company. The joint documentation is valid for three years. The documents comprising joint documentation are: •
Working Capital consortium agreement
•
Joint deed of documentation
•
Inter se agreement between bankers
•
Letter of authority to lead bank by other consortium banks
•
Letter of authority to second lead bank by other consortium banks
•
Undertaking to create charge on the assets of the company.
ALLOCATION OF LIMIT BY LEAD BANK
SBI appraises the limit on behalf of the consortium. It in consultation with the company decided the allocation of the limit to various member banks. The
allocation of any member bank cannot be higher than the limit sanctioned by it. The drawing power for it fund based limits out of the consortium are determined on the basis of the stock statement submitted by the company. company. HCL is required to submit the stock statement to all member banks in consortium for every month.
FINANCIAL FOLLOW UP REPORTS ( FFRI & FFRII):
Every quarterly and half quarterly intervals, the firm submits Financial Follow Up Reports I and II. FFR I is an extract of the balance sheet. In this report, the company is required to submit the details of sales, current assets and current liabilities for the quarter and the estimates for the current year. FFR II – the company is required to prepare P&L, B/S and Cash Flow in a different format. The information is to be provided for the last year (actual), current year half yearly results (actual) and the estimates for the next year.
SHORT TERM FINANCING
Other than the investment in current assets, the firm also has to be concerned with short-term to long-term debt as this plays a very important role in determining the amount of risk undertaken by the firm. That is , the firm not only has to be concerned about current assets but also the sources through which they are financed. A firm before financing financing in either of the two, has to take into consideration various aspects. While short term might seem the ideal way to finance your assets than the long term due to shorter maturity period and also less of costs are involved, there is an inherent risk in short term financing due to fluctuating interest interest rates and due to the reason that the firm might be unable to reay the amount in a shorter span of time.
SECURED LOANS
2006
2005
2004
2003
SHORT TERM
38 49
4991.28
6903.7
4987.52
LONG TERM
0
53 0 .07
0
3461.36
TOTAL
38 49
5521.35
6903.7
8448.88
%SHORT TERM
10 0
90.4
10 0
59 .03
Under secured loan cash credit, along with non fund based facilities, foreign currency term loan from banks are secured by way of hypothecation of stock-intrade, book debts as first charge and by way of second chanrge on all the immovable and movable assets of the parent company. Term loan in Indian rupees from a bank is subject to a prior charge in favour of company’s company’s bankers on book debts and stock in trade for working capital facilities.
UNSECURED LOANS
2006
2005
2004
2003
SHORT TERM
15104
2593.39
63.94
76.84
LONG TERM
11
17
169.51
3261.42
TOTAL
15115
2610.39
233.45
3338.26
% SHORT TERM
99.93
99.348
27.38
2.3
Here HCL has a major portion of their financing done through short term financing than long term financing. The preference of short term financing to long term as such is not the part of any policy employed e mployed by the firm but it was due to the reason that the interest rates in short term were more investor friendly and the cost involved in them were also low. low. At present, we can see that the firm is moving more towards long term financing as the interest terms in the long term has reduced compared to the short term.
YEAR- END COMMERCIAL PAPERS PARTICULARS
2006
2005
2004
2003
COMMERCIAL PAPERS
400 0
25 0 0
---
30 0 0
The credit rating by ICRA continued at ‘ A1+’indicating highest safety to company’s company’s commercial paper program of Rs. 75 Crores. It acts as an effective tool in reducing the interst cost and is used for financing inventories and other receivables. As and when the firm issues commercial papers, it sends a letter to the leader of the consortium, i.e., SBI to reduce from the fund based limits the amount it has issued in the form of the commercial papers. Suppose the firm issues 30 Crores as commercial papers and the fund based limits are say 115 Crores. Then firm sends a letter to SBI to reduce the existing fund based limits from 115 to 85 Crores.
In terms of desirability, desirability, the commercial papers are cheaper and advantageous to the firm compared to the consortium financing. The main advantage being the interest rate which is lower than the bank rates existing under consortium financing. But the firm depends on both and for working capital financing, it is dependent on the banks for funds sich as working capital demand loans and cash credits. There is no point in the firm not making use of the fund based limits in the consortium banking as their commercial papers are restricted to 75 Crores.
MERITS OF O F COMMERCIAL PAPERS: PAPERS: •
•
It is an alternative source of raising short-term finance, and proves to be handy during periods of tight bank credit. It is a cheaper source of finance in comparison to the bank credit.
DEMERITS OF COMMERCIAL PAPERS: PAPERS: •
It is an impersonal method of financing.
•
It is always available to the financially sound and highest rated companies.
•
The amount of lonable funds available in the commercial paper market is limited to the amount of excess liquidity of the various purchasers of commercial paper.
ANALYSIS
y h p a r g o i l b i B s n o i t a d n e m m o c e r d n a s n o i t s e g g u S s i s y l a n a g n i d u l c n o C s h p a r g l a i c n a n i F s i s y l a n a y r t s u d n I
INDUSTRY ANALYSIS INDUSTRY STRUCTURE AND DEVELOPMENTS
Over the past decade, the Information Technology Technology (IT) industry has become one of the fastest growing industries in India, propelled by exports (the industry accounted for more than a quarter of India’s services exports in 2004-05). The key segments that have contributed significantly (96 percent of total) to the industry’s exports include – Software and services (IT services) and IT enabled services (ITES) i.e. business services. Over a period of time, India has established itself as a preferred global sourcing base in these segments and they are expected to continue to fuel growth in the future.
FINANCIAL GRAPHS
•
Gross Business Income:
Consolida Consol idated ted Rev Revenu enuee for the yea yearr gre grew w to Rs. 1185 1855 5 cro crores res.. Se Servi rvices ces revenue grew by 31%, from Rs. 274 crores to Rs. 360 crores in the current year.. The Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) for the preceding five year years is 45%.
•
Profit before bef ore Tax: Tax:
PBT grew by 11% from, Rs. 385 crores in the previous year to Rs. 429 crores in the current year. The Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) for the preceding five years is 53%.
•
Profit after afte r Tax: Tax:
Profit after tax grew by 13%, from Rs. 280 crores in the previous year to Rs. 316 31 6 cr cror ores es.. Th Thee Co Comp mpou ound nded ed An Annu nual al Gr Grow owth th Ra Rate te (C (CAG AGR) R) fo forr th thee preceding five years is 36%. Profits for the current year are after a provision for Rs. 106 crores for current tax expense, Rs. 3 crores for deferred tax expense and Rs. 4 crores for Fringe Benefit Tax. Tax.
•
Earnings Per Share:
Basic EPS grew from Rs. 16.7 in the previous year to Rs. 18.7 in the current year. Diluted EPS grew from Rs. 16.5 in the previous year to Rs. 18.6 in the current year.
•
Dividend:
The Company distributed dividends @ 100% per share in each of the first three quarters of the current year. The company proposes to pay a final dividend of 100% per fully paid up equity share of Rs. 2/- each. The interim dividends paid together with proposed final dividend total to 400% for the current year, entailing an outflow of Rs. 156 crores, including distribution tax.
•
Net worth/ Shareholders Fund:
Net Worth grew from Rs. 698 crores as at previous year-end to Rs. 860 crores as on June 30, 2007. Share capital as at year-end is Rs. 34 crores divided into 16.9 crores shares of Rs. 2/- each. Reserves & surplus as at year-end are Rs. 826 crores after appropriating Rs 156 crores for dividends. Book value per share grew from Rs. 41.3 as at June 30, 2006 to Rs.50.8 as at June 30, 2007.
During the year, the Company allotted 4.2 lakh shares under Employee Stock Option Scheme realizing Rs. 4.4 crores.
•
Borrowings: Year-end loan balances increased from Rs. 85 crores as on June 30, 2006 to Rs. 236 crores as on June 30, 2007. The increase in loan balan balances ces was ma mainl inly y to fun fund d gr growt owth h in Com Comput puting ing Bus Busine iness ss inc includ luding ing System Integration. Debt-Equity ratio [Debt/(Debt+Equity)] [Debt/(Debt+Equity)] is 22%.
•
CURRENT ASSET RA R ATIO:
CONCLUDING ANAYSIS
•
The working capital position of the company is sound and the various sources through which it is funded are optimal.
•
The company has used its dividend policy, policy, purchasing, financing and investment decisions to good effect can be seen from the inferences made earlier in the project.
•
The debts doubtful have been doubled over the years but their percentage on the debts has almost become half. This implies a sales and collection policy that get along with the receivables management of the firm.
•
The returns have been affected by a marked growth in working capital and though a 29.75% in 2006 return on investment is good, but it got reduced as compared to 39.01% return in 2005.
•
The various ratios calculated are an indicator as to the fact that the profitability of the firm and sales are on a rise and also the deletion of the inefficiencies inefficiencies in the working capital management.
•
The firm has not compromised on profitability despite the high liquidity is commendable.
•
HCL Infosystems Infosystems has reached a position where the default costs are as low as negligible and where they can readily factor their accounts receivables for availing finance is noteworthy.
SUGGESTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The management of working capital plays a vital role in running of a successful business. So, things should go with a proper understanding for managing cash, receivables and inventory. HCL Infosystems is managing its working capital in a good manner, but still there is some scope for improvement in its management. This can help the comp compan any y in rais raisin ing g its its prof profit it leve levell by maki making ng less less inve investm stmen entt in acco accoun unts ts receiv receivabl ables es and stocks stocks etc. etc. This This wi ll ultima ultimatel tely y improv improvee the efficie efficiency ncy of its oper op erat atio ions ns.. Foll Follow owin ing g are are few few reco recomm mmen enda dati tion onss give given n to the the comp compan any y in achieving its desired objectives: •
The busine business ss runs runs succes successfu sfully lly with with adequa adequate te amount amount of the worki working ng capital but the company should see to it that the cash should not be tied up in excessive amount of working capital.
•
Though the present collection system is near perfect, the company as due to the increasing sales should adopt more effective measures so as to counter the threat of bad debts.
•
Thee ov Th over er pu purc rcha hasi sing ng func functi tion on shou should ld be avoi avoide ded d as it coul could d lead lead to liquidity problems.
•
The investment of cash in marketable securities should be increased, as it is very profitable for the company.
•
Holding of excessive and insufficient stock must be avoided as it creates a burden on the cash resources of a business and results in lost sales, delays for customers, etc respectively.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Following sources have been sought for the preparation of this report: •
Corporate Intranet
•
Financial Statements (Annual Reports)
•
Direct interaction with the employees of the company
•
Internet ----www.hclinfosystems.in ----www.hclinfosystems.in
•
Textbooks on financial management
I.M.Pandey
Khan and Jain
Prasanna Chandra
APPENDICES
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR HCL INFOSYSTEMS LTD.
Last 4 yea yearr Balanc Bal ance e Sheet: She et: Although debt as a percent of total capital increased at HCL Infosystems Ltd. over the last fiscal year to 21.53%, it is still in-line with the IT Services industry's norm. Additionally, even though there are not enough liquid assets to satisfy current obligations, Operating Profits are more than adequate to service the debt. Accounts Rece Receiv ivab able le are are amon among g the the indu indust stry ry's 's wors worstt with with 28 28.4 .44 4 days days wort worth h of sale saless outstanding. This implies that revenues are not being collected in an efficient manner. Last, inventories seem to be well managed as the Inventory Processing Period is typical for the industry, at 21.29 days. Currency in Millions of Indian Rupees
As of:
Jun 30 2004
Jun 30 2005
Jun 30 2006
Restated
Restated
Reclassified
2,512.7
2,149.2
Jun 30 2007
Assets
Cash and Equivalents
1,452.3
1,976.5
Short-Term Investments
114.8
1,573.6
3,137.7
2,939.9
TOTAL CASH AND SHORT TERM INVESTMENTS
1,567.1
4,086.3
5,286.9
4,916.4
Accounts Receivable
4,390.4
6,103.1
7,691.4
10,520.0
228.2
400.5
468.1
593.4
TOTAL RECEIVABLES
4,618.7
6,503.6
8,159.5
11,113.4
Inventory
2,804.2
3,493.9
4,696.1
7,918.8
107.0
163.0
146.0
287.8
23.8
56.4
86.8
84.8
TOTAL CURRENT ASSETS
9,120.8
14,303.2
18,375.3
24,321.2
Gross Property Plant and Equipment
1,406.1
1,404.7
1,731.9
2,431.0
-749.1
-744.9
-852.4
-966.5
657.0
659.8
879.5
1,464.5
--
--
0.2
0.8
2,190.9
--
--
--
59.1
--
--
--
Other Intangibles
--
95.3
32.4
30.9
Other Long-Term Assets
--
5.1
71.8
16.0
12,027.9
15,063.4
19,359.2
25,833.4
3,390.6
4,100.9
5,964.8
8,298.5
Other Receivables
Prepaid Expenses
Other Current Assets
Accumulated Depreciation
NET PROPERTY PLANT AND EQUIPMENT
Goodwill
Long-Term Investments
Deferred Tax Assets, Long Term
TOTAL ASSETS
LIABILITIES & EQUITY
Accounts Payable
Accrued Expenses
100.4
101.0
140.4
209.8
--
307.9
784.9
1,182.4
690.4
499.6
0.4
892.5
30.1
80.9
77.4
252.8
2,914.6
3,377.3
4,687.9
5,216.6
536.4
965.8
557.9
775.2
7,662.6
9,433.4
12,213.7
16,827.8
15.8
7.2
60.1
284.0
109.0
73.5
107.6
124.8
13.9
3.8
1.0
--
7,801.3
9,517.9
12,382.4
17,236.6
Common Stock
328.9
334.4
337.5
338.3
Additional Paid in Capital
673.9
883.7
1,044.5
1,087.9
3,193.2
4,297.3
5,565.2
7,141.4
30.6
30.1
29.6
29.2
TOTAL COMMON EQUITY
4,226.6
5,545.5
6,976.8
8,596.8
TOTAL EQUITY
4,226.6
5,545.5
6,976.8
8,596.8
12,027.9
15,063.4
19,359.2
25,833.4
Short-Term Borrowings
Current Portion of Long-Term Debt/Capital Lease
Current Income Taxes Payable
Other Current Liabilities, Total
Unearned Revenue, Current
TOTAL CURRENT LIABILITIES
Long-Term Debt
Deferred Tax Liability Non-Current
Other Non-Current Liabilities
TOTAL LIABILITIES
Retained Earnings
Comprehensive Income and Other
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND EQUITY
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR HCL INFOSYSTEMS LTD.
Last 4 year ye ar Cash Flow F low Stateme St atement: nt:
In 2007, cash reserves at HCL Infosystems Ltd. fell by 172.7M. However, as a percent of revenues, this change was similar to the IT Services industry median. By looking at the Cash Flow Statement, analysts can easily see the sources and use of cash generated throughout the year.
Currency in Millions of Indian Rupees
NET INCOME
Depreciation & Amortization
Amortization of Goodwill and Intangible Assets
DEPRECIATION & AMORTIZATION, TOTAL
(Gain) Loss from Sale of Asset
(Gain) Loss on Sale of Investment
As of:
Jun 30 2004
Jun 30 2005
Jun 30 2006
Jun 30 2007
Restated
Restated
Reclassified
1,751.1
2,277.0
2,803.6
3,159.5
180.1
152.4
124.3
144.0
--
--
--
4.1
180.1
152.4
124.3
148.1
-0.4
-1.6
0.5
0.6
-79.6
-84.9
-61.5
-55.2
Asset Writedown & Restructuring Costs
0.0
0.5
--
--
292.8
31.2
79.6
271.8
14.8
14.4
7.2
9.2
-1,593.4
-1,993.4
-1,724.7
-3,158.8
-423.3
-689.7
-1,202.2
-3,222.7
Change in Accounts Payable
1,471.8
1,561.6
2,759.5
3,112.2
CASH FROM OPERATIONS
1,614.0
1,267.5
2,786.3
264.7
-180.7
-267.8
-424.3
-674.5
3.5
10.7
80.3
1.6
Investments in Marketable & Equity Securities
73.7
841.4
-1,453.6
289.0
CASH FROM INVESTING
30.8
622.4
-1,683.3
-231.9
Short-Term Debt Issued
41.1
169.5
--
--
Long-Term Debt Issued
200.8
231.3
200.5
1,837.2
TOTAL DEBT ISSUED
241.9
400.8
200.5
1,837.2
Short Term Debt Repaid
--
--
-172.3
-74.7
Long Term Debt Repaid
-707.9
-302.7
--
-250.0
TOTAL DEBT REPAID
-707.9
-302.7
-172.3
-324.7
283.3
215.2
163.9
44.2
Common Dividends Paid
-866.2
-1,047.4
-1,526.6
-1,546.1
TOTAL DIVIDEND PAID
-866.2
-1,047.4
-1,526.6
-1,546.1
Other Operating Activities
Provision & Write-off of Bad Debts
Change in Accounts Receivable
Change in Inventories
Capital Expenditure
Sale of Propert y, Plant, and Equipment
Issuance of Common Stock
Other Financing Activities
CASH FROM FINANCING
NET CHANGE IN CASH
-98.9
-95.4
-132.0
-216.1
-1,147.8
-829.5
-1,466.5
-205.5
497.1
1,060.4
-363.5
-172.7
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR HCL INFOSYSTEMS LTD.
Last 4 year Income Statement:
Year over year, HCL Infosystems Ltd. has seen revenues remain relatively flat (113.7B to 116.9B), though the company was able to grow net income from 2.8B to 3.2B. A reduction in the percentage of sales devoted to cost of goods sold from 93.21% to 92.53% was a key component in the bottom line growth in the face of flat revenues.
Currency in Millions of Indian Rupees
Jun 30 2004
Jun 30 2005
Jun 30 2006
Restated
Restated
Reclassified
43,064.4
77,478.9
113,683.1
116,853.0
--
-35.7
61.6
63.8
TOTAL REVENUES
43,064.4
77,443.2
113,744.7
116,916.8
Cost of Goods Sold
38,701.3
71,496.1
105,964.4
108,121.4
GROSS PROFIT
4,363.1
5,947.1
7,780.3
8,795.4
Selling General & Admin Expenses, Total
2,268.8
3,305.9
3,764.3
4,527.1
Revenues
Other Revenues
As of:
Jun 30 2007
Depreciation & Amortization, Total
180.6
152.4
124.3
148.1
--
-84.0
84.8
91.2
OTHER OPERATING EXPENSES, TOTAL
2,449.4
3,374.3
3,973.4
4,766.4
OPERATING INCOME
1,913.7
2,572.8
3,806.9
4,029.0
-82.8
-77.6
-132.6
-214.6
Other Operating Expenses
Interest Expense
223.8 Interest and Investment Income
132.1
146.1
208.0
NET INTEREST EXPENSE
49.4
68.5
75.4
9.2
Currency Exchange Gains (Loss)
37.9
145.0
-144.4
189.6
Other Non-Operating Income (Expenses)
32.0
--
--
--
2,033.0
2,786.3
3,737.9
4,227.8
79.6
85.0
61.5
55.2
Gain (Loss) on Sale of Assets
0.4
1.6
-0.5
-0.6
Other Unusual Items, Total
2.3
87.2
4.0
4.7
Insurance Settlements
2.3
3.7
4.0
4.7
--
84.0
--
--
2,115.1
2,960.1
3,802.9
4,287.1
364.0
683.1
999.3
1,127.6
Earnings from Continuing Operations
1,751.1
2,277.0
2,803.6
3,159.5
NET INCOME
1,751.1
2,277.0
2,803.6
3,159.5
EBT, EXCLUDING UNUSUAL ITEMS
Gain (Loss) on Sale of Investments
Other Unusual Items
EBT, INCLUDING UNUSUAL ITEMS
Income Tax Expense
NET INCOME TO COMMON INCLUDING EXTRA ITEMS
1,751.1
2,277.0
2,803.6
3,159.5
NET INCOME TO COMMON EXCLUDING EXTRA ITEMS
1,751.1
2,277.0
2,803.6
3,159.5