Evaluate the firm’s financial standing for the past 5 years:
• Undertake a financial and strategic analysis of its performance:
o Use the Assignment Questions for guidance ONLY.
o Use any of the spreadsheets provided by Damodaran to assist with the analysis (go to http://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~adamodar/, and use the Spreadsheets link).
o Download the annual reports from the firm’s web site, enter the figures for the last three years into an Excel spreadsheet and analyse them (see lecture material for guidance). The diverse nature of the companies means that not all the ratios provided in lectures will apply, and students may have to be innovative, and create some ratios of their own. Do NOT simply rely on Aspect Huntley (Fin Analysis) ratio analysis.
o Review the rest of the internal environment.
• Compare the firm’s performance with its listed peers/competitors as identified in Step 1.
• Reflect major analysts’ concerns as expressed in their reports or in news reports. (These will often contain ratios of particular relevance to the firm).
• Use the information up to the last financial year available at the start of the semester for the analysis i.e. if half way through the semester the firm issues another annual report, or announces a takeover or is taken over, or announces a major new initiative, ignore it for the purpose of the assignment.