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Optimal Leverage Ratio

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* Introduction of Retail Industry
Australian retail industry has contained with about 140,000 businesses which contribute 4.1% of Australian GDP. It is also one of the largest employers in Australia. This industry has been through a downward trend of the sales growth rate in recent years. Retail industry is diverse and competitive since it has low enter barriers, high extent of exposure to international trading. It can be classified with different standards: scale of business, operating region, nature of goods, competitions. In this report, six companies have been chosen for comparing purpose within Australian retail industry: JB Hi-Fi Limited (JBH), Myer Holdings Limited (MYR), Kathmandu Holdings Limited (KMD), The Reject Shop Limited (TRS), Supply Network Limited (SNL) and Joyce Corporation Limited (JYC). Those firms are rated by their market value of share capital. JBH and MYR both have market capital over $1 billion which are at the top of this industry. KMD and TRS are from the middle section which have market capital about $0.6 billion and $0.25 billion. The two bottom companies SNL and JYC are with $78 million and $14 million market capital respectively.
This report, will firstly explain why do we use D/E ratio as a firm leverage, followed by comparing the advantages and disadvantages via debt financing, detail analysis of each company are included. Then, the report clarifies how we make assumptions and calculate the “optimal leverage”. Finally, the pathway each company could achieve its optimal is given. * Reasons to Choose D/E as Firm Leverage
The debt-equity ratio we use is calculated by dividing Net Debt by Market Value of Equity. Net debt is the total debt minus cash. It is used to achieve a more relevant measure of leverage because the cash could reduce the risk of leverage. Market value of equity is considered in this ratio as it is more

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