BUSINESS CORPORATE AND FINANCE

An analysis of relative capital structures of major Australian companies

Contents
Answer 1 ....................................................................................................................................................... 3
BHP Billiton.............................................................................................................................................. 3
Rio Tinto ................................................................................................................................................... 3
CSL ........................................................................................................................................................... 3
Woolworths ............................................................................................................................................... 4
Telstra ....................................................................................................................................................... 4
Qantas ....................................................................................................................................................... 4
Coca-cola Amatil ...................................................................................................................................... 4
Answer 2 ....................................................................................................................................................... 6
Answer 3 ....................................................................................................................................................... 7
Business risk of BHP Billiton ............................................................................................................... 7
Business risk of Rio Tinto ..................................................................................................................... 7
Business risk of CSL ............................................................................................................................. 8
Business risk of Woolworths ................................................................................................................ 8
Business risk of Telstra Corp ................................................................................................................ 8
Business risk of Qantas Airways .......................................................................................................... 8
Business risk of BHP Billiton ............................................................................................................... 9
Answer 4 ....................................................................................................................................................... 9
Appendix ..................................................................................................................................................... 10
Bibliography ............................................................................................................................................... 11




Answer 1
BHP Billiton
The company is in materials industry, especially in the mining industry. The company does the
procurement of the materials and sells it to the customers. The main customers are government
and other big infrastructure players. There is no scarcity of customers. The number of customers
is not a problem. There are only few big players in the industry. Mining industry in Australia is
well established. It is the primary industry. This industry has a huge turnover and contributes
well in the Australian industry. Thus the risk factor of this industry is less. BHP Billiton is one of
the top mining companies of the Australia. The company deals in several segments, which are
basically related to the material industry. The BHP Billiton is the market leader. As the materials
industry is the core industry, its risk profile is lower. The company BHP itself is the market
leader, thus the risk profile of the company is also on the lower side. Thus the company is having
low risk.
Rio Tinto
Rio Tinto is also in material industry. The company is basically in mining industry. This is the
core industry and Rio Tinto is a big player. There is no big threat to the industry. Though the
mining industry is little over burdened by the taxes, such as mineral resources tax, yet the overall
risk of the mining industry is lower. The risk profile of the Rio Tinto is itself on the lower side.
The Rio Tinto is next to BHP Billiton in the materials industry, i.e. it is one of the top companies
in the mining industry. As the materials industry is the core industry, its risk profile is lower. The
company itself is among the top companies, thus the risk profile of the company is also on the
lower side. Thus the company is having low risk.
CSL
The company is in research based industry. The major industry is biotechnology. The industry is
growth oriented. The company does all the work related to development of making and
marketing of biopharmaceuticals and allied products. There are three parts of operations for the
company. These parts are CSL Behring, licensing of intellectual property and other human
health. The development of bio-pharmacy products is done by CSL Behring. The intellectual
branch of CSL rents the licenses of the intellectual patents to third parties. The third division of
CSL deals with the bio-plasma and bio-therapies. The business of CSL is spread in many
countries. CSL is among the top companies of the group, and in fact it is the industry leader.
However the future aspect of the business is not defined and there is a lot of development in the
industry. Thus the risk profile of company can be considered moderately risky.
Woolworths
The company deals in FMCG and hospitality industry (Woolsworth 2011). These industries are
ever green and the requirements of these products are certain. The company deals in five
segments. These five segments are food and liquor, supermarkets, petrol, big w and hotels. The
business of company is well diversified. The company is among the top companies of the
industry. The risk of the company business is on the lower side. The risk of industry is also less.
Thus the company can be put in the category of low risk companies.
Telstra
The company is a leader in the telecommunications sector in the country. The company has nine
business segments. In the recent past the company has gone through a series of merger and
acquisitions. The health of telecom sector is average. However the company is the market leader
hence the risk profile of the company is moderate.
Qantas
The company is engaged in the operations of international and domestic flights and air
transportation services. Company is having four brandings for aviation business (Qantas 2011).
These brandings are Qantas, Jet star, Qantas Frequent Flyer and Qantas Freight. The condition of
aviation sector worldwide is not satisfactory. This sector is under performing worldwide. Though
the sector is underperforming worldwide, Qantas is the market leader. Thus the profile of the
company can be considered moderately risky.
Coca-cola Amatil
The company is a well know brand of soft drink and beverages (CCA 2012). The company is
engaged in manufacturing, distribution and marketing of soft drinks. Besides that the company
also deals in business of mineral water, fruit juice, coffee and other beverages. The company is
having a global presence. The beverages industry is working fine. Though at times there are
some voices against the utility of soft drinks, yet the future of beverages industry is bright. Thus
the company can be put in a low risk profile.
The risk profile of the companies on the basis of nature of industry and common sense are as
under, with the reasons.
Company Industry Risk
Profile
Reason
BHP Billiton Materials Low The BHP Billiton is the market
leader. As the materials industry is
the core industry, its risk profile is
lower. The company BHP itself is
the market leader, thus the risk
profile of the company is also on
the lower side. Thus the company
is having low risk.
Rio Tinto Materials Low As the materials industry is the
core industry, its risk profile is
lower. The company itself is
among the top companies, thus the
risk profile of the company is also
on the lower side. Thus the
company is having low risk.
CSL Biotechnology Moderate The future aspect of the business is
not defined and there is a lot of
development in the industry. Thus
the risk profile of company can be
considered moderately risky.
Woolworths Food and staples Moderate The risk of the company business
is on the lower side. The risk of
industry is also less. Thus the
company can be put in the category
of low risk companies.
Telstra Telecommunications Moderate The health of telecom sector is
average. However the company is
the market leader hence the risk
profile of the company is moderate.
Qantas Airways Transportation Moderate The condition of aviation sector
worldwide is not satisfactory. This
sector is under performing
worldwide. Though the sector is
underperforming worldwide,
Qantas is the market leader. Thus
the profile of the company can be
considered moderately risky.
Coca Cola Amatil Beverages Low The beverages industry is working
fine. Though at times there are
some voices against the utility of
soft drinks, yet the future of
beverages industry is bright. Thus
the company can be put in a low
risk profile.

Answer 2
A higher beta represents the higher risk profile (Andrew 2007). The first premise of the capital
structure theory is that companies with greater risk will be having a lower debt ratio. This is due
to the fact the lenders will be hesitating in lending the some on money to the companies which
are having more risk. The analysis of the table indicates that the BHP Billiton is having a high
risk profile, because it is having a higher beta coefficient. The debt to equity ratio is also the
lowest. So in this case the capital structure theory appears to be correct. However if we go
through all the cases, it is found that there no consistency in the results. The debt to equity ratio
is not directly correlated to the beta of the company (Brigham & Ehhardt 2010). The second
premise of the capital structure theory states that the companies with higher debt to equity ratio
provide higher returns to the shareholders. The Coca Cola Amatil is having the highest financial
leverage, but its return is not the highest. In the same way the CSL is having the lowest financial
leverage, however its return is not the lowest. Thus there seems to be no correlation between the
return and financial leverage in real world.
There are a lot of factors in real world and a single theory is not capable to predict the results.
The capital structure theory is having significance in academic world, but in real world it does
not find place. Actually in real world nothing can be predicted accurately, there is a lot of
randomness in real world.
Answer 3
The first step is to calculate the business risk for each of the share. The formula of business risk
is as under.
) / 1 ( E D
L
U

where:

U
= unlevered beta (measure of business risk)

L
= levered beta (standard beta coefficient provided in the above table)
D/E = the companys debt-to-equity ratio
Business risk of BHP Billiton
) / 1 ( E D
L
U

Business risk = 1.80 / (1 + 0.4662)
Business risk = 1.80 / (1 + 0.4662)
Business risk = 1.227
Business risk of Rio Tinto
) / 1 ( E D
L
U

Business risk = 1.59 / (1 + 0.6134)
Business risk = 1.59 / (1.6134)
Business risk = 0.98
Business risk of CSL
) / 1 ( E D
L
U

Business risk = 1.22 / (1 + 0.4660)
Business risk = 1.22 / (1.4662)
Business risk = 1.832
Business risk of Woolworths
) / 1 ( E D
L
U

Business risk = 0.70 / (1 + 0.6944)
Business risk = 0.70 / (1.6944)
Business risk = 0.413
Business risk of Telstra Corp
) / 1 ( E D
L
U

Business risk = 0.61 / (1 + 0.9330)
Business risk = 0.61 / (1.9330)
Business risk = 0.315
Business risk of Qantas Airways
) / 1 ( E D
L
U

Business risk = 0.76 / (1 + 1.024)
Business risk = 0.76 / (2.024)
Business risk = 0.37
Business risk of BHP Billiton
) / 1 ( E D
L
U

Business risk = 0.74 / (1 + 1.145)
Business risk = 1.80 / (2.145)
Business risk = 0.839
The calculated business profile of the companies is as under.
Company Business risk profile
BHP Billiton 1.22
Rio Tinto 0.98
CSL 1.83
Woolworths 0.41
Telstra Corp. 0.31
Qantas Airways 0.37
Coca-Cola Amatil 0.84

The share returns of the company appear to be in line with the business risk calculated above.
The business return of CSL is highest and it has provided the highest return. The business risk of
the Telstra is lowest and it has provided the lowest share return. Thus it can be said that the share
returns are correlated to the business risk.
Answer 4
BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto are in materials industry and not in the transport industry as
suggested by the question. There are four figures provided in the table for these two companies.
The first figure is debt to equity ratio. Rio Tinto is having higher debt to equity ratio in
comparison to BHP. This indicates that the financial leverage of Rio Tinto is higher than BHP.
The second ratio is return on equity. The BHP has provided higher return on equity in
comparison of Rio Tinto. The beta of BHP is higher than Rio, which indicates that the BHP is
riskier than Rio. The fourth ratio is share return. The in past years BHP has provided higher
return than Rio.


Appendix
Company information averaged over the 5-year period from 2003 to 2007

Company

Industry sector
Debt to
equity*
Return on
equity*
Beta
coefficient
Share
return*^

BHP Billiton Materials 0.4662 0.3179 1.80 3.08
Rio Tinto Materials 0.6134 0.2689 1.59 2.60
CSL Biotechnology 0.4660 0.1282 1.22 6.364
Woolworths Food and staples 0.6944 0.3067 0.70 1.157
Telstra Corp. Telecommunications 0.9330 0.2746 0.61 0.0431
Qantas Airways Transportation 1.024 0.1067 0.76 0.5237
Coca-Cola Amatil Food, beverages 1.145 0.1728 0.74 0.65


Bibliography
Andrew, J 2007, Financial Management; Principles and Practice, Freeload Press, USA.
Brigham, EF & Ehhardt, MC 2010, Financial Management Theory and Practice, Cengage
Learning, NY.
CCA 2012, Coca Cola Amatil Limited, viewed 11 August 2012,
<http://ccamatil.com/AboutCCA/Pages/ContactUs.aspx>.
Qantas 2011, 'Annual Report', Annual Report, Accounts, Qantas, Qantas, Australia.
Woolsworth 2011, 'Annual Report 2011', Annual Report, Financial Reorting, Woolsworth, 2011,
Woolsworth, Australia.