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Why is interest expense said to cost the firm substantially less than the actual expense, while dividends cost it 100 percent of the outlay?

Short Answer

Expert verified

Interest expense is a tax-deductible item to the company, while the dividend payments are not. So, the actual cost of interest is lower, whereas the actual cost of the dividend is exactly equal to the outlay.

Step by step solution

01

Interest expense

Interest expense is explained as the cost incurred by an organization on the borrowed amounts. It is a non-operating expense debited in the income statement as an indirect expense.

02

Dividend

A dividend is a distribution of net income earned by the company during the year to its shareholders.It is paid per-share, either in cash or by issuing a cheque or online transfer.The net cost of the interest expense to the company is the amount paid less the tax saving due to interest paid. However, in the case of dividends paid, there is no tax saving. Hence, the dividend cost is equal to the total outlay.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

Perez Corporation has the following financial data for the years 20X1 and 20X2:

20X1

20X2

Sales

\(8,000,000

\)10,000,000

Cost of goods sold

6,000,000

9,000,000

Inventory

800,000

1,000,000

b. Compute inventory turnover based on an alternative calculation that is used by many financial analysts, Cost of goods sold/Inventory, for each year.

Stein Books Inc. sold 1,900 finance textbooks for \(250 each to High Tuition University in 20X1. These books cost \)210 to produce. Stein Books spent \(12,200 (selling expense) to convince the university to buy its books. Depreciation expense for the year was \)15,200. In addition, Stein Books borrowed $104,000 on January 1, 20X1, on which the company paid 12 percent interest. Both the interest and principal of the loan were paid on December 31, 20X1. The publishing firm’s tax rate is 30 percent. Did Stein Books make a profit in 20X1? Please verify with an income statement.

For December 31, 20X1, the balance sheet of Baxter Corporation was as follows:

Current assets

Liabilities

Cash

\(15,000

Accounts payable

\)17,000

Accounts receivable

20,000

Notes payable

25,000

Inventory

30,000

Bonds payable

55,000

Prepaid expenses

12,500

Fixed assets

Stockholder’s equity

Plant and equipment (gross)

Less: accumulated depreciation

\(255,000

51,000

Preferred stock

\)25,000

Net plant and equipment

\(204,000

Common stock

60,000

Paid in capital

30,000

Retained earnings

69,500

Total assets

\)281,500

Total liabilities and stockholder’s equity

\(281,500

Sales for 20X2 were \)245,000, and the cost of goods sold was 60 percent of sales. Selling and administrative expense was \(24,500. Depreciation expense was 8 percent of plant and equipment (gross) at the beginning of the year. Interest expense for the notes payable was 10 percent, while the interest rate on the bonds payable was 12 percent. This interest expense is based on December 31, 20X1 balances. The tax rate averaged 20 percent.

\)2,500 in preferred stock dividends were paid, and \(5,500 in dividends were paid to common stockholders. There were 10,000 shares of common stock outstanding.

During 20X2, the cash balance and prepaid expenses balances were

unchanged. Accounts receivable and inventory increased by 10 percent. A new machine was purchased on December 31, 20X2, at a cost of \)40,000. Accounts payable increased by 20 percent. Notes payable increased by \(6,500 and bonds payable decreased by \)12,500, both at the end of the year. The preferred stock, common stock, and paid-in capital in excess of par accounts did not change.

a. Prepare an income statement for 20X2.

The Lancaster Corporation’s income statement is given below.

b. What would be the fixed-charge-coverage ratio?

Lancaster corporation

Sales

\(246,000

Cost of goods sold

122,000

Gross profit

\)124,000

Fixed charges (other than interest)

27,500

Income before interest and taxes

\(96,500

Interest

21,800

Income before taxes

\)74,700

Taxes (35%)

26,145

Income after taxes

$48,555

Amigo Software Inc. has total assets of \(889,000, current liabilities of\)192,000, and long-term liabilities of \(154,000. There is \)87,000 in preferredstock outstanding. Thirty thousand shares of common stock have been issued.

a. Compute book value (net worth) per share.

b. If there is $56,300 in earnings available to common stockholders and the

firm’s stock has a P/E of 23 times earnings per share, what is the currentprice of the stock?

c. What is the ratio of market value per share to book value per share? (Round

to two places to the right of the decimal point.)

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