Analysing The Financial Performance Of Three Oil Companies Finance Essay - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 16 Words: 4766 Downloads: 1 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Compare and contrast essay Did you like this example? For our assessment we will be analysing three companies form the oil and gas market. The companies that will be analysed are Fortune Oil PLC, Maple Energy PLC and Circle oil PLC. An introduction to the business market and the companies can be found below. Introduction to the oil and gas business market The oil and gas industry is a huge industry facing challenges and has evolved majorly. Most of the oil and gas production takes place under the seas. According to the Cambridge energy research associates, Inc oil demand may double up by 2030. To reduce the expenses of finding and producing oil and gas, new technology is used. Oil and gas provide 60 percent of the daily energy needs to 6.4 billion people and other 40 percent comes from other resources. Oil and gas represent globalization on a large scale. The market is expanding and spending billions of money for the oil and gas production. For country s long-term economic growth maintaining a steady supply of oil and gas is a necessity. Large quantities of oil and gas flows from exporting regions such as Africa, Latin America to the importing regions such as the north America, Europe and far east. This leads to political trade and economic growth. (Petroleumonline.com/Gas industry overview: 2010) Oil and gas industry is co mpeting with a global marketplace and has a higher number of stakes or stakeholders. There is no control over the demand for oil and gas in the world. It is constantly on the rise with the likes of upcoming economies like china and India playing more than an active part in their demand. (Ernst Young: 2010) Oil prices have varied from the year 2007 to 2009.During the year 2007 the average price in nominal and real 2008 US dollars soared to around 100 dollars. In the year 2009,the annual average price faced the great recession leading to loss. During the year 2008,the amount of oil production declined from 80 million barrels per day to 20 million barrels per day .Oil demand is expected to increase steadily until 2030 at about 110 million barrels per day. Iraq has a huge prize at stake for international oil companies. India and China s per capita oil consumption is at a lower level when compared to the other developed countries like UK, United states, Canada and so on. (Jim Burk hard: 2010) Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Analysing The Financial Performance Of Three Oil Companies Finance Essay" essay for you Create order Introduction to Fortune Oil PLC Fortune Oil Plc has built up a portfolio of investments and operations in oil and gas industries through various subsidiaries and joint ventures and associated infrastructure projects that supply fuel to homes and businesses in China. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange main board official list since 1993. It is headquartered in Hong Kong.   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   The companys aim is to be the first integrated gas industry in China with both upstream and downstream assets. It is also expanding opportunities in the oil terminal business and is one of the Few  international companies involved in this part.   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   Fortune Oils assets are categorised into two main areas: oil terminal supply and natural gas. Its investments and operation s are mainly located in the Guangdong and Shanxi provinces and the Beijing hinterland. The Company is now developing coal bed methane reserves, which will integrate with our gas supply business and benefit Chinas environment.    China is the worlds second largest oil market and is also the largest growth market for natural gas. Fortune Oils gas strategy is to form an independent integrated gas company: developing their own resources of unconventional gas; sourcing gas from other producers and then selling this gas to end-users through the city gas companies or CNG vehicle stations.   Fortune Oil has already had Chinas first LNG production plant; the largest CNG station in Beijing and coal bed methane block in Shanxi Province.   At the present, there are no private or foreign companies in China with a regionally integrated gas business. Fortune Oil is now in the process of developing the Liulin block and seeking similar high quality opportunities, particularly in Shanxi Province-the largest CBM reserves in China. Fortune Oil already generates pipelines and city gas companies in the province, and is  exclusively positioned to integrate upstream CBM developments with  their gas distribution network.  Â  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  China is the world second largest purchaser and importer of crude oil. Fortune Oil first developed oil terminals in China and remains one of the few  foreign investors. Currently the company operations include supplying jet fuel to most of the airports in south and central China and distributing 6% of China crude oil imports. The company is well positioned to benefit from the accelerated growth in energy imports and future liberalization of the China oil markets under the WTO agreements Introduction to Circle Oil (plc) Circle Oil is an oil and gas company, which was founded in 2003, and aiming at providing exploration, development and manufacture service for oil-related firms in the sector (Circle Oil: 2009). In order to pursue maximal profit, a clear strategy has been outlined and carried out throughout its development which could be depicted as locating, assessing and confirming licences in new hydrocarbon regions, subsequently Circle attempt to co-operate with other oil and gas firms in manufacturing through negotiation. In addition, Circle Oils share has been traded on AIM of the London Stock Exchange since 2004 (ibid), and its stable upward trend partly reflected the companys constant progression within these years. Its business place mainly involves with MENA area, which stands for Middle East and North Africa (Circle Oil: 2009: 5). Currently it has operated in five countries including Morocco, Egypt, Oman, Tunisia and Namibia. As their strategy stated, Circle is well placed to exploit o pportunities arising from recent industry consolidation and to do business in developing countries (Circle Oil: 2009). Their business activities in those countries might also stimulate local economic development and provide more opportunities for smaller firms to cooperate in the expensive oil industry. Apart from this, MENA area is rich in natural resources including oil and gas, in spite of under development (AAPG: 2003). In terms of performance, Circle Oil has already experienced a series of years excellence (Circle Oil, 2009 p.4). Specifically, in Morocco their six wells campaign had finished in 2009, and five of them have been proven profitable. Furthermore, a new trunk line will be facilitated to enhance its selling. In Tunisia, the completed 2D land seismic programme enables them to analysis-acquired data so that laying a solid foundation for further progress in coming years. In Egypt, Circle continued its success and 10,000 barrels of oil output daily could underpin their confidence significantly. Despite of some delay in Oman and Namibia, the preparation work was conducted properly according to its plan. Based on Circle chairmans statement, a further expansion and development in those countries are expected (Circle Oil, 2009 p.5). At the same time, they would continue to look for suitable projects which in line with their belief and selecting criteria for investment. While for the long run, the company plans to acquire some medium sized reserves. Introduction to Maple Energy PLC Maple energy plc is located in Peru and it is an integrated independent energy company since 1992. Maple mainly focuses on the ethanol project and exploring and producing the crude oil and natural gas. In addition, the main aim of Maple is to ensure its leading position of energy companies in Peru. However, Maple has been admitted to AIM just from 13th July 2007 and also listed in Lima from 21st December 2007. As stated in the Maple annual report from 2007 to 2009, Peru has a significant economic growth in 2007 and 2008, however, in 2009, Perus economic growth has fallen from 9.8% to 0.8%. In particular, Maple has to pay a large amount of deposits to Peru government. The advantage of Perus economic is that it is reported as the lowest inflation country in Latin America. From 2007, Maple planned to increase its cash flow and has set the aim to continue increasing cash flow in the following years. Meanwhile, in 2008, Maple planned to develop its Ethanol Project, which had become the leading company of producing Ethanol in Peru in 2009. Further, Maple was aimed to be the leading company in Peru of energy industry in 2009 and Maple is still working on this aim. Additionally, there are several risks for Maple. Firstly, the fluctuation of ethanol price and market all over the world would affect Maples development. Secondly, the downturn of world economy would affect Perus economy, which would also affect Maple. Thirdly, the policy of government in Peru may affect Maples development and so on. How the Analysis will be conducted To find out which of the three companies discussed above we would choose to invest in several factors will be taken into consideration. Using the balance sheet, income statement and cash flow statement of all three companies, we will analyse the companies financial performance . The first aspect of financial performance that will be analysed is that of profitability. One of the most important aspects that we will analyse will be the Return on Shareholders Funds (ROSF). This is essential for us to know as (ROSF)ÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¦compares the amount of profit for the period available to the owners with the owners average stake in the business during that same period (Atrill McLaney: 2008: 188). As well as this ratio it is also essential to analyse the Return on Capital Employed (Roce).ROCE will be use as a performance measure as it ÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¦is a fundamental measure of business performance (Atrill McLaney: 2008: 189). Along with these the operat ing profit margin and gross profit margin will also be used to help assess the profitability of the company. Once the profitability has been assessed liquidity will be assessed. This will be done as liquidity ratios show the ability of the business to meet its short term financial obligations (Atrill McLaney: 2008: 202). The ratios that will be used to analyse the liquidity of our chosen companies will be the current ratio and the acid test ratio. The analysis will then progress to analyse how much the companies are financed by borrowing, commonly known as the Gearing Ratio (Atrill McLaney: 2008). This is important to our analysis as a heavily geared business, a change in operating profit will lead to a proportionately greater change in the ROSF ratio (Atrill McLaney: 2008: 205). The final analysis will be of the investment ratios. To analyse the investment ratios the following will be used : dividend payout ratio, Earnings per share and price/ earning ratios. Along with this rigorous analysis of performance we will also take into consideration where the companies are primarily based and what markets they primarily trade in. This is important, as already briefly discussed above; the economic growth of a countries economy can affect the companys potential for growth and the companies potential for making profit. The laws of different countries may also have positive or negative effects on a companys financial performance. The findings of our analysis for each individual company will be presented, and then we will compare our findings of the individual companies against one another. Once all the relevant financial information has been analysed our findings will be presented within this document. After this our decision on how best to invest our money will be presented drawing upon the financial analysis that we conducted. Our decision will be presented along with any information that led to this decision. The financial ratios will be displa yed in a table with a descriptive results of our analysis presented underneath, that will include what the ratios shw us and the reasons behind why we chose to invest or not invest in that particular company. Our financial analysis will begin with Fortune Oil PLC. Fortune oils ratios and descriptive analysis 2007 2008 2009 ROSF ROCE 10.41 % 10.15 % 12.4% OPERATING PROFIT MARGIN 13.3% 13.3% 10.05% GROSS PROFIT MARGIN 14.93% 14.59% 18.23% CURRENT RATIO 1.75 1.65 1.19 ACID TEST RATIO 1.7 1.57 1.1 GEARING 31.68% 21 % 13.37% EARNINGS PER SHARE 0.25 pence O.49 pence 0.47 PRICE / EARNINGS RATIO The financial ratios that can be deduced from Fortune oils financial statements are very interesting. What can be noted from all of the ratios presented is that they are all positive, this is very important especially as the oil and energy industry can be very volatile and unpredictable. (Refe rence) Ratios Of Profitability ROSF ROCE- when analysing the return on capital employed a similar trend can be noticed to that of the operating profit margin and the gross profit margin. The year 2008 shows a dip however the ROCE then increases in the year 2009. This dip can be seen to be the result current liabilities having a bigger % increase then the operating profit. However in 2009 the operating profit dramatically increases and represents the 1.89% increase in the return on capital employed Overall this financial ratio is very positive and reflects Fortune oils good financial performance in general. The gross profit margin shows Fortune oils increasing revenue, there is a slight decrease in 2008 from 2007, however in 2009 there is a big increase from both the years 2007 and 2008. The gross profit margin shows an increase in revenue. The gross profit does not take into account other expenses that will affect the business hence there is the operating profit and n et profit. However the gross profit margin is still a useful ratio. The dramatic increase in 2009 can be explained by a dramatic increase of sails through gas (Fortune Oil: 2009). Operating Profit margin Fortune Oil has a healthy operating profit margin, although it steadily decreases over the three years analysed. This is due to increases in costs of operation over the three years due to the expanding operations of Fortune Oil. Ratios Of liquidity Current Ratio In 2007 Fortune Oil had a very healthy Current Ratio, however through the years 2008 and 2009 this can be seen to decline quite dramatically. Although in 2009 the current ratio was still at a good level this decrease over the three years is of concern. The decreasing of the current ratio is a result of both an increase in current liabilities and a decrease in current assets over the three years. Acid Test- the acid test ratios follow a similar pattern and can be explained by the same reasons as the current rati o. However the acid test ratio is also affected by the amount of inventories held by a company. From 2008 2009 the proportion of Fortune Oils current assets that were made up of inventories increased (Fortune Oil: 2009) Gearing Ratio The gearing ratio represents the ratio between the level of investment and the level of borrowings (Atrill McLaney: 2008). Although Fortune oils gearing ratio decreases over the three years due to increased amounts of borrowing, the gearing levels for all three years are healthy. The increase in borrowings are due to the expanding operations of Fortune oil and the investment in exploratory projects which in the coming years should generate a healthy amount of revenue for Fortune Oil (Fortune Oil: 2007: 2008: 2009) Investment Ratios The earnings per share follows a slightly strange pattern after a dramatic increase in 2008 form 2007 the earnings per share drops very slightly in 2009. This is an affect of the increase in Fortune Oils net pr ofits over the years, and the slight decrease can be seen by as light increase in the number of ordinary shares in issue Explanations for ratios The oil and gas industry can be extremely volatile (Reference) bearing this in mind Fortune Oils ratios are impressive. The slight decreases that are seen in some of the ratios such as the operating profit margin and the current ratio are a result of Fortune oil dealing with the severe recession that affected the business environment. The increase of current liabilities between 2007 2009 is an affect of this. The dramatic increase in the gross profit margin reflects Fortune Oil bouncing back from the recession with record sales and a buoyant Chinese economy (Fortune Oil: 2009). After an extremely volatile 2008 the economic environment was stable and this was reflected in stable energy prices (Fortune Oil: 2009). Fortune oil survived the economic recession with healthy financial ratios and managed to produce Fortune oils best revenues and net profits in the year 2009. The future also looks bright for Fortune oil with new development projects having been certified by the Chinese Government, Fortune oil can push forward their exploratory projects such as their operation in Liulin and joint partnerships with other companies. The alliance Fortune Oil has with the Chinese Government is extremely important for future success of the company and has enabled them to gain certification for operations that have generated significant amounts of income (Fortune oil: 2007: 2008: 2009) After surviving and moving out of the recessions with healthy financial statements and ratios 2010 could be an extremely profitable year for Fortune Oil and a chance to build upon their success of the last three years. Circle Oil Ratios and descriptive analysis 2007 2008 2009 ROSF ROCE -7.7% -18.3% -0.29% OPERATING PROFIT MARGIN NO REVENUE NO REVENUE -2.28% GROSS PROFIT MARGIN NO REVENUE NO REVENUE 48.84% CURRENT RATIO 3.37 3.16 2.4 ACID TEST 3.7 3.16 2.4 GEARING 59.6% 26.2% 31% EARNINGS PER SHARE LOS SPER SHARE 1.68c Loss per share 4.60 Loss per share 3.66c For the past three years (2007-2009) Circle oil company has been facing loss.According to the circle oil company s ratios , there is no return on ordinary share holders funds(ROSF) for the year 2007-2009.ROSF compares the amount of profit available to the owners with the owners average stake in the business during that same period(Atrill McLaney:2008:p188).For the money invested in the company in the year 2007 ,there s an operating loss . So return on capital employed (ROCE) is about -7.7 % .In the following year 2008, company faced a decrease in operating loss at about -18.3% and in year 2009 it went down to -0.29%. For the year 2007 and 2009 no revenue was obtained which lead to a loss whereas in the year 2009 ,cost of sales was about 15,093 US$.So the operati ng profit margin was about -2.28% which relates the operating profit to the sales revenue and the company recovered with the gross profit margin at about 48.84% which is a difference between sales revenue and cost of sales. Circle oil company is under debt as it has borrowed convertible loan.For the past three years there were no dividends which lead to a major loss and the money invested was not recovered by the shareholders Liquidity Ratios analysis The ratio of liquidity normally consists of current ratio and acid test ratio, and both of them have function of testing whether a company has capability of paying off short-term liabilities (Atrill McLaney, 2008). In this case, generally Circle Oil had a fantastic performance in liquidity ratios in successive three years as shown in the table above (Table 1). Specifically, in terms of current ratio Circle Oil had figures of 3.37, 3.16 and 2.4 from 2007 to 2009 respectively. Although the trend of downturn had been shown in thi s case, each of them, by comparing with benchmark of 2, could be labeled very high (Atrill McLaney, 2008). Similarly, the acid test ratio had nearly identical performance here, mainly because the three years inventories (excluding part) are extremely small that can barely make contribution in calculating of acid test ratios. Theoretically, the data had been revealed above should be encouraging for not only the company but also stakeholders. However, through carefully examining the detail of annual report, it had considerable amount of cash and cash equivalents in hand in all three years, and these may be problematic in terms of running business productively (Atrill McLaney, 2008). In addition, it is reasonable for us to imply that this result may have something to do with its business undergoing in recent years. According to chairmans statement (Circle Oil, 2009), Circle Oil has just changed from an oil explorative company to an oil production company, and everything relating to production is still in the preparatory phase, namely acquiring licenses, testing wells etc. Obviously, this explanation is in line with their data, but their performance in the future is questionable. Gearing ratio analysis As to gearing ratio, it enables analysts to work out how much proportion the long-term liabilities accounting for in businesss equity (Atrill McLaney, 2008). Ideally, the proportion of long-term liabilities should be limited within a specific range that firms can have some control over it as the more non-current liabilities possess, the more risk the company would have in future (ibid). In the context of Circle Oil, it had rather high figure of 59.6% in 2007 and reasonable one in 2008 with 26.2%. Finally the number bounced back a bit to 31% in 2009. The reason for having a abnormal gearing ratio in 2007 lies in the share premium in that year was much less than following two years by comparison. What is also worth mentioning is that base on Atrill McLaney (2008), if a highly geared firm has even some minor change in operating profit, the effect of returning to shareholders would be significant. It is not difficult to find out that the relationship between gearing ratio and operating profit at Circle Oil is direct proportion during that three years. Investment Ratio analysis Investment ratios are designed to help investors assess the returns on their investment (Atrill McLaney, 2008). In the case of Circle Oil, since there were not dividends announced for 2007, 2008 and 2009 (Circle Oil, 2001-2009), which might result from no profit generation, the two dividend-related ratios cannot be calculated. From this point, it is obvious that the company did not perform well in terms of giving benefits back to their investors in recent years. However, the earning per share ratio tells again that Circle Oil had some difficulties in generating profits for its shareholders. Specifically, in 2007 the loss per share stood at only 1.68c, while in 2008 this figure went up to 4.60, even though it had dropped down to 3.66 in 2009 (Table1), these information altogether convinced that the company may be a wrong place for investor to put their money in, at least for those three years. At the same time, it is also important to take the companys situation into account, meaning it is a new oil business and a number of gas and oil wells are still under testing and may have potential to be profitable source in the future. Therefore, this company may be a choice for people who intend to invest for a long haul. Maple Energy ratios and descriptive analysis 2007 2008 2009 ROSF -1.75% -5.33% -22.73% ROCE -0.74% -3.5% -6.97% OPERATING PROFIT MARGIN -1.2% -5.59% -14.3% GROSS PROFT MARGIN 26.62% 22.67% 24.1% CURRENT RATIO 3.27 1.56 0.63 ACID TEST 3.06 1.05 0.51 GEARING 13.5% 12.98% 17.89 EARNING PER SHARE LOSS PER SHARE 3.38 LOSS PER SH ARE 7.90 LOSS PER SHARE 26.06 The ratio analysis of Maple Energy Plc. The ratio analysis of Maple Energy Plc. This part will analyze Maples performance through profitability, liquidity, gearing, efficiency and investment ratios which are established from its annual financial report from 2007 to 2009. Profitability 2007 2008 2009 ROSF -1.75% -5.33% -22.73% ROCE -0.74% -3.5% -6.97% OPERATING PROFIT MARGIN -1.2% -5.59% -14.3% GROSS PROFIT MARGIN 26.62% 22.67% 24.1% The profitability ratios show the ability to make profits of a firm and the degree of success (Atrill McLaney, 2008). From the table above, the profitability ratios reveal main downfalls through the last three years. First, the return on capital employed ratio figures illustrate a steady decline in returns to all suppliers. In particular, the figures are negative because the operating profits of the three years are all negative. From 2007 to 20 09, the operating expenses were exceeding the gross profit although the company has got a large amount of gross profit. These ratios show a poor performance of Maple from 2007 to 2009. Consequently, this company has to pay not only its borrowed funds, but also the interests on the borrowed funds. Particularly, this is awful information for suppliers of long-term finance. Second, the return on ordinary shareholders funds ratios show a sharp decline in relation to the companys profit which were left to the owner. The figures are negative as well because the operating profit was already negative and the finance cost was exceeding the finance revenue. In particular, by 2009, loss for the year was almost three times than the loss for 2008. From the annual report for Maple Energy Plc, it is clearly that the finance cost has a rapid increase until 2009. As Atrill McLaney (2008) emphasized that companies are seeking as high as possible for return on ordinary shareholders funds ratio. Th ese negative ratios imply that Maple seems not possible to take some new businesses, such as a new investment. In addition, their negative profit for the year was a threat to their shareholders. Furthermore, a sharp decline of the operating profit margin ratios reveals that the company has a very poor performance for operating profit. For oil and energy companies, they tend to operate on high prices, thus compared to these negative ratios, Maples expenses were extremely higher than gross profit. Maple needs to either increase the sales revenue to exceed its cost or to reduce its operating expenses. Finally, for the gross profit margin ratios, they have a slight decline from 2007 to 2009. However, these figures are positive which means that the turnover is exceeding the cost of sales. Although the gross profit margin ratios have declined, from 2008 to 2009, both of the sales revenue and cost of sales have reduced. This means that the gross profit was still high related to the t urnover for Maple. Below is the graph to show the profitability ratios of Maple from 2007 to 2009 Liquidity ratios Liquidity determines the ability of a company to meet their immediate financial obligations (Atrill McLaney, 2008). When choosing an investment of the period less than 5 years, whether the company has the possibility to give back their trade payables and short-term obligations should be in consideration. The ratios used to measure the companys liquidity are the current ratio and the acid test ratio. 2007 2008 2009 CURRENT RATIO 3.27 1.56 0.63 ACID TEST 3.06 1.05 0.51 Maple Energys current ratios reveal the dramatically decreasing trend of the ability to pay off the short-term debts from the year 2007 to 2009. In the year 2007 the company had the highest amount of $ 34.34 million dollars cash at bank and in hand, but in the year 2008 and 2009 the amount has significantly dropped to 8.54 and 5.38 million dollars respectively( londonstockexchange, 2010). Moreover, the current liability has gone up triple for the year 2009. The acid test ratios from the year 2007 to 2009 are hardly different from the current ratios. The ratio has significantly dropped in the past 3 years, suggesting that 2009s liquidity is the main problem as the company has less than 70 cents to cover every $1 invested in the company. Graph for the trends of Liquidity ratios from 2007 to 2009 Gearing 2007 2008 2009 GEARING 13.5% 12.98% 17.89% INTEREST COVER -6 19.1 6.1 As Atrill McLaney (2008) stated, financial gearing is essential to evaluate the risk of business and the relationship between long-term loans and capitals. From the table above, the gearing ratio figures demonstrate a slight increase from 2007 to 2009. By 2009, the gearing ratio has increased to 17.89%, which could be considered as an acceptable figure. However, it seems that Maple could still increase its investment on loans, w hich could contribute to the long-term lenders and return to shareholders capital. In addition, from the balance for Maple, the reserves from 2007 to 2009 have not increased, which indicates that the low reserves are a potential risks for Maples business. Additionally, the interest cover ratios show an instable trend from 2007 to 2009. Due to the negative operating profit all three years, the operating profit could not cover the interest payable. As a consequence, it is an enormous risk for the shareholders of Maple that the lenders will try to recover their outstanding of interest by crack down on the business, especially by 2009, there was a large amount of operating losses. Efficiency ratios The Sales Revenue to Capital employed ratio is a main factor of the Return on Capital employed ratio, and the table mentioned below indicates the efficiency of the company by the usage of its assets generating sales revenues. Maple Energy 2007 2008 2009 Sales Revenue T o Capital Employed 0.61 0.63 0.49 Return on Capital Employed -0.74% -3.5% -6.97% There is a fluctuation of the sales revenue to capital employed, in the year 2008 the ratio slightly went up to 0.63. But then the ratio went down to 0.49 in the year 2009. Moreover, the company is still unable to provide the return to the shareholders as the return on capital employed has dramatically dropped down to -6.97% in 2009. The decline in ROCE due to the increase in the amount of operating loss, also suggesting the poor performance of the company. Earnings per share The earnings per share ratio are essential to examine the share performance of Maple energy. As shown in the graph above, the earnings per share ratio figures illustrate a sharp decline from 2007 to 2009. In particular, for the share performance, Maple was making loss all three years. Due to the fast increase of loss per share every year, there is a big risk that the shareholders or potential investors are not possible to invest into Maple. It is important for Maple to improve their operating profit and net profit. All in all, Maple has to reduce its cost and expenses to make its profit to be positive.