TOP 100 TRANSPORTATION AND LOGISTICS SITES
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| Tata Motors: Time to Hit the Brakes? Shiv Kapoor submits: In looking at Tata Motors (TTM), the first thing that jumps out is the poor condition of the balance sheet. On 31 March 2009, the debt on the balance sheet was Rs 392.134 billion ($8.7 billion); that is an astounding Rs 763 per share ($17). After reducing cash and cash equivalents, the net debt comes in at Rs 683 per share ($15). Shareholder equity was Rs 59.406 billion ($1.3 billion) or Rs 116 per share ($2.6). The net debt to net debt plus equity ratio is 86%. This is well over debt levels I consider prudent. My tolerable net debt to net debt plus equity ratio is 30%. For a car maker, a slightly higher than 30% is okay in some circumstances; they typically use a quasi financial services business to drive sales growth through financing buyers. For instance, when I last looked, Honda Motor Company (HMC) has a ratio of 48%. Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
More on the Rise and Fall of Urban Economies Ryan Avent submits: Alec MacGillis has responded to my post on his Prospect piece in a blog post, and I think he’s misread me in a few ways. He says I have endorsed Richard Florida’s viewthat many parts of the country have been hit so hard by the recession that they’re no longer worth trying to prop up.Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
Ford Is February Sales Champion, Leaving Toyota and GM in the Dust TheCarConnection.com submits: Well, here's one recipe for success in the U.S. auto business: Introduce a rapid-fire sequence of new and thoroughly revised vehicles with best-in-class fuel efficiency, then quickly roll out a widely-acclaimed voice-activated infotainment system across all your lines. Oh, yeah, and ... don't take government bailout money.Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
Frontline Q1 2010 Earnings Call Transcript Frontline (FRO)Q1 2010 Earnings CallMay 21, 2010 9:00 am ETComplete Story » seekingalpha.com |
Euroseas: Opportunities in Shipping SL Advisors submits:Shipping stocks have had a rough time of it recently, hurt by concerns over slowing Chinese growth as well as new capacity from ships on order. Most names in the sector already trade at a healthy discount to book value. Of these, we like Euroseas (ESEA). They’ve managed their business more conservatively than most, with the result that they have almost no debt on their balance sheet. Consequently, they’ve been able to get through a period of depressed shipping rates without having to raise additional capital. Yesterday they raised their dividend and reported a positive outlook for shipping rates over the intermediate term. They have locked in rates on about 60% of their bulk carriers for 2011 and 20% of their container ships, protecting cashflow but still providing some upside if they are correct that shipping rates are bottoming. Earlier this year they announced a JV with two private equity firms, Eton Park and Rhone Capital, with the intention of acquiring ships that are attractively priced. ESEA is contributing $25MM of the total $175MM committed to the venture, on which they are targetting a 20% IRR.Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |