问答题

问答题

问答题

问答题(d) Discuss the factors to be considered in formulating the dividend policy of a stock-exchange listed company. (10 marks)

问答题(b)Discuss whether Grenarp Co might achieve its optimal capital structure following the rights issue. (7 marks)

问答题

问答题

问答题

案例分析题Tramor

案例分析题RMBE is licensed to operate a high-speed rail network directly linking several cities in the large country of Vinland

案例分析题Retail World (RW) is a major international retail chain, selling groceries, clothing, electronic items, toiletries and homeware items. It has grown rapidly across a number of different countries, offering a broad product range to suit a wide range of customer segments. Growth has been through the expansion of existing stores, in addition to the opening of new stores. The new finance director, whose background is in a non-retail environment, is keen to understand the sales trends of the organisation, as well as the industry, in order to help develop a strategy which can take advantage of these trends in the future. A business analyst has provided summarised internal sales data for this purpose. The companys IT systems are fully integrated and associated controls are rigorous, allowing the data to be manipulated in many ways. The analyst has provided time series analysis (Figure 1) and regression analysis (Figures 2 and 3). He wanted to explore the possibility of identifying different causal relationships, carrying out least squares regression analysis linking sales to both time (Figure 2) and number of stores in operation (Figure 3). The number of stores has grown annually and the analyst believes that this is a better indicator of the expected future revenue than simply the passage of time. The average number of stores expected to be in operation in 2017 is 3,700 rising to 4,000 in 2018. Notes: (1) Svar is the expected seasonal variation, calculated by averaging the variations of each quarter (2) Sadj is the sales total, adjusted for average seasonal variation. Figure 2 Least squares regression analysis (time) An extract of the values used in the calculation of this is shown below. This illustrates the basis of the regression analysis. All values were used in the calculation of the least squares regression formula. Figure 3 Least squares regression analysis (number of stores) The values used in the calculation of this are shown below: The finance director was interested to receive the analysis, saying, We can use this to estimate what our revenues might be in the future, both quarterly and annually. However, he also stated that it was not quite as useful as he would have hoped for, commenting, I have been hearing a lot about big data at industry meetings I have attended. I think we should investigate the ways in which we could use this, and the benefits we might hope to obtain from it. Required:

案例分析题Section B TWO questions ONLY to be attempted TR Co is a well-established public limited company listed on the national stock exchange of a western European country

案例分析题Section B TWO questions ONLY to be attempted NCBT plc is a diversified business formed through a merger of Nairo Consumer Electronics and Birit Technology in 1990. NCBT is the holding company for many subsidiaries in a variety of industry sectors including insurance, financial services, clothing manufacture, farming and fertilisers. The company is undertaking a strategic review of three of its subsidiaries: Swiftdale Farms, CCB Insurance and Pait Technology. Data for the three companies has been provided for this review, as shown in Figure 1. Figure 1 Financial data for three subsidiaries 20142016 Swiftdale Farms this was NCBTs first acquisition in 1994. NCBT had been a success story in the 1990s technology boom and had a surplus of cash and a number of shareholders looking for growth in the value of their shareholding. In 1994, the farming industry was faced with a number of threats and Swiftdale Farms was opportunistically acquired for what was considered to be a low price. At the time of the acquisition, the board of NCBT was aware that they had little knowledge of the farming industry but it felt that the managers of Swiftdale Farms were capable and just needed some encouragement. They offered financial incentives for good performance, and provided financial resources to assist in the growth of the subsidiary. This initially worked well, but the company performance started to decline in 2010 and NCBT stopped providing financial resources, as they felt they were not being used to add value. In 2016, Swiftdale Farms nearest competitor held 154% market share. CCB Insurance this was acquired in 2011 as NCBT recognised the rapid development of the insurance industry in its home market and also the high margins being earned. CCB Insurance was a relatively new listing on the stock market and the board of NCBT commissioned a broker to buy shares aggressively on its behalf, so that it acquired a controlling stake. NCBT felt justified in its actions as the share price rose rapidly after acquisition. CCB Insurance has continued to grow with little involvement from NCBT but is now struggling to manage its growth, failing to recruit sufficient new staff or to provide enough office space to cope with its growing operations. It operates in an industry where there are relatively few larger firms and hundreds of smaller companies and where the market leader holds 12% of the market. The economy in which CCB Insurance operates is growing at a rate of approximately 2% every year. Pait Technology this is the most recent acquisition, having taken place in 2014. The company manufactures consumer electronics, similar to both of the founding companies of NCBT. It operates in a different country where the industry is just starting to develop and grow, the way it did for NCBT in the 1990s. NCBT has other subsidiaries situated in this country. The management of Pait Technology are highly knowledgeable about their customers and industry and the company has a good brand name with high recognition. Its nearest competitor has an 8% market share. Required:

案例分析题Section A This ONE question is compulsory and must be attempted The National Football Association (NFA) is the governing body of the game of football in the country of Geeland and is tasked with administering the rules of the game

案例分析题Section A This ONE question is compulsory and MUST be attempted Introduction QTP Co produces timber framed windows for builders merchants, property builders and property maintenance companies. It does not sell windows directly to the general public. Members of the general public (and small building companies) can buy QTP windows through the builders merchants supplied by QTP. These builders merchants supply a wide range of products for property maintenance and improvement. They are usually located in large warehouse premises on the outskirts of towns and cities. There are three primary raw materials (or components) for the windows which QTP makes. Timber (wood) which it orders from timber suppliers. Worldwide demand for timber is increasing and timber prices are relatively high and supply of some of the specialist timber which QTP requires is often in short supply. Glass which it orders from specialist glass manufacturers. Fittings, such as bolts, latches, handles, etc which it sources from a number of small specialist producers. QTP has a number of departments. This scenario considers just five of these departments and each of these departments is exactly aligned with activities of the value chain. They are: Inbound logistics and procurement Production Outbound logistics Marketing and sales Service Production takes place on one dedicated production line where one machine (and supporting labour) undertakes all the tasks concerned with converting the components into the finished windows. There are no plans to buy a second machine or open up a second production line. Production takes place from 08.00 to 17.00 (nine hours). Although employees take breaks, these are organised so that the production line is always staffed. It is not possible, because of technical and environmental constraints, to extend the working day or organise a night shift. The company is effectively restricted to a nine-hour working day. Setting up and setting down of the machine has to take place within this nine-hour day. Outbound logistics has a small fleet of vehicles which are used to deliver finished windows to the customer. Effective scheduling of this fleet is currently a problem and vehicle maintenance is becoming more expensive as the vehicles get older. Standard and bespoke windows The company offers both standard windows and bespoke windows. Standard windows are made to a specification decided by QTP and they are produced to inventory. These windows are advertised in the companys catalogue and on its website. Customer orders for these windows are supplied from inventory and next day delivery is promised. The production of these windows is based on sales forecasts made by the marketing and sales department. These forecasts are used by the inbound logistics and procurement department to place orders for the raw materials for the windows. Because relatively large orders for components are placed in advance, QTP usually obtains significant discounts on published component prices. Bespoke windows are produced to a specification required by the customer, usually resulting from consultation and negotiation between the marketing and sales department and the customer. They are made to exactly fit the customers needs, in terms of timber type and quality, glass specification, window size and types of fitting. The marketing and sales department provides the customer with a proposed delivery date. A copy of the order, and the proposed delivery date, is also given to the production department, so that they can schedule the making of the windows and to inbound logistics and procurement so that they can order specific components for the windows. At present, there is often a conflict between the production of standard and bespoke windows. It is essential that QTP achieves the promised delivery date for bespoke orders. To achieve this, it is often necessary for scheduled runs of standard windows to be postponed so that bespoke windows can be produced. This leads to less efficient use of the machine and labour (due to set up and set down time) and also to components for standard windows being held in inventory for longer than planned. Furthermore, component prices for bespoke orders are usually higher, reflecting smaller volumes and the need to fulfil tight deadlines. Bespoke window production and delivery to customers usuallytakes place as quickly as possible, to ensure that promised deadlines are met and inventory storage of finished windows minimised. In the past, it was possible for bespoke orders to use common components bought in for standard windows. However, this led to continual disruption of the production of standard windows and now components for standard and bespoke orders are kept quite separate and are stored in different areas of the warehouse. In general, the marketing and sales department prefers to make bespoke sales, rather than sales of the standard windows. They believe that bespoke windows provide exactly what the customer wants and this distinguishes QTP from its competitors who are more focused on selling standard windows. Unlike these competitors, the marketing and sales department at QTP contains staff who are experienced in window design and applications and customers value this. There is evidence that some important customers purchase their standard windows from QTP even though they could buy similar windows cheaper elsewhere, because they value QTPs flexibility in supplying them with bespoke windows. The marketing and sales director claims that, we have sales people who really understand windows and what customers want and need. We are not trying to sell them windows off-the-shelf, just because we have them in inventory. Furthermore marketing and sales staff claim that bespoke windows deliver higher revenue and higher profit to QTP than standard windows. However, this is challenged by the production manager who would prefer production to be focused on standard windows. Sales staff are currently rewarded on the basis of average revenue per window. At present, approximately 30% of QTPs sales volume is for bespoke windows, but this share is increasing annually. Table One shows selected data for the production of standard and bespoke windows. Table One: Selected QTP data: standard window and bespoke window production Note (1) Transport costs concern distribution costs of finished goods to customers. Costs of inbound components are borne by the supplier. Note (2) Time taken to set up the machine for a single production run of windows to one specification. Note (3) Time taken to set down the machine (resetting parameters, cleaning, etc) from a single production run of windows to one specification. Note (4) Time of a single production run of windows to one specification. Important: The machine is restricted to a nine-hour working day. Set up time and set down time must be within this nine-hour working day. Management concerns Senior management at QTP is exploring the possibility of moving the company to solely standard window production OR solely bespoke window production. They are also investigating issues in the five departments which are aligned to the activities of the value chain. They previously employed a business analyst who provided them with an analysis of the service department at QTP, documented in Appendix 1. Management has engaged you as her successor and they now require similar analyses for the remaining four departments. Appendix 1: Analysis of service department in the value chain Required: QTP management would like you to prepare a briefing paper which:

案例分析题Section B TWO questions ONLY to be attempted Honey bees are a vital natural resource which work hard to pollinate hundreds of different crops, but it has been observed in recent years that they have started to disappear at an alarming rate