Performance Of An Organisation Over A Three Year Period

Performance Of An Organisation Over A Three Year Period Topic Area The topic selected for research programme is The business and financial performance of an organisation over a three year period and the organisation chosen to base on research is Sainsbury Plc. It is not appropriate to measure the performance of a business entity in isolation thats why the research will base on comparison of performance of Sainsbury plc with its market competitors, e.g. Tesco Plc over last three years by using different accounting performance measure techniques e.g. Ratio analysis, SWAT analysis. Reason for Choosing Topic Today in volatile market condition due to economic recession famously branded as Credit Crunch businesses are facing tremendous challenges and many big names from every sector e.g. Northern Rock, HBOS Woolworth completely wipe out from market which make it crucial to have external independent business analysis to save the interest of shareholders who are ultimate owner of the business. Having studied ACCA fundamental paper Performance Measurement (F5), professional paper Business Analysis (P3) and option paper Advance Performance Measurement (P5) has equipped me with competence of examines the financial and business performance of business entity most effectively. This is the reason for choosing the above mention topic out of other given topics because skills and knowledge require for this project under this topic I have already studied in detail. Supermarkets are very dominant member of our society who influences a lot in our daily household needs. In the UK food and grocery retailing accounts for nearly 50p in every pound spent in shops. 12.4% of household spending in the UK is now on food, drink and tobacco, compared to 14.3% twelve years ago (1998) and 17.3% twenty two years ago (1988). (IGD, n.d).People prefers supermarkets because of one stop all shop. Sainsbury Plc is among of biggest supermarkets famously known as Big Four Asda, Tesco, and Morrison. The reason for selecting Sainsbury plc for research project because of employed in company for almost five years and have detail knowledge about the company operational activities as well as its strategic performance. About Sainsbury Sainsbury Plc supermarket founded in 1869 by John James and Mary Ann Sainsbury, company started to sell own brand product in 1882 under the category of brand ranges Taste the Difference, Be Good to Yourself, Sainsbury Free form Sainsbury Basic etc which became 50 per cent of Sainsbury turnover in 1950. (Sainsbury Plc, nd). The group operate in three business segments, Supermarket chain, Property development and Sainsbury bank. Sainsbury jointly own Sainsbury Bank with Lloyds Tsb Banking Group and it has two property joint ventures with Land Securities Group Plc and The British Land Company Plc. Sainsbury has a heritage of selling quality food at fair prices. The large stores sell 30,000 products and non-food complementary products. The human capital employed by company almost equal to 150,000 and the online channel of Sainsbury plc available to 90 per cent of UK households. (J Sainsbury Plc, 2010) Company sells other companies products as well its own brand products. The other value added services used by company is Nectar Point loyalty card system. Performance measurement system The performance measurement is a process to obtain information to analyse the efficiency and effectiveness of business operation. Different quantitative and qualitative measures use to assess the performance of the organisation. The good performance measurement system should support organization corporate strategy, measure the both financial and business performance, identify the quality and strength of business process and spot the areas where the resources should be allocated to get the competitive advantage. Project Objectives The project objectives for the financial and business performance of the Sainsbury plc are as follow: Analytical review of Financial Performance of Sainsbury plc by comparison with competitor company Tesco Plc over last three years. Identify the key value drivers for any good performance and business issues obstacles the optimal performance. Determine the effect of Economic Recession on the Financial Performance of Sainsbury Plc. Critically evaluate the Strategic Position through analysis of Business Performance of Sainsbury plc and give recommendation based on conclusion How to Make Sainsbury Great Again. Research Questions To meet above mention objectives the following questions will be answered in research analysis. Q1-How competitive Sainsbury Plc performance in last three years in term of Market share and Sale growth compare to its competitor? Q2- What is the effect of economic recession on supermarkets profit and how Sainsbury Plc perform in contrast to its competitors under these circumstances? Q3-Liquidity Does Sainsbury have sufficient resources to meet its current business commitments and what is the change in liquidity in last three years with comparison to competitor? Q4- Gearing-How risky Sainsbury capital structure to justify the assumption of Going Concern Basis and what is change in gearing level in last three years link to its competitor? Q5 -What is strategic position of Sainsbury Plc and what are the critical success factors on which Sainsbury need to focus to get the competitive market advantage? Research Framework PART 2 Information gathering and accounting / business techniques: Primary Data The primary source of data mainly gathers through direct contact with information provider through interviews, meetings and quest nary session. These are very important source of information but there are limitations associate with it e.g. confidentiality issues, timing of available information, and cost to gather these information make them little of use for purpose of research. Secondary Data This is the research already carried out other than user of information which is available publically through different government and private agencies. Secondary data of information is more feasible as compare to primary data because it is not possible to carry out all qualitative and quantitative analysis due to time constraint and the cost associated with collecting that information. Information gathering sources Annual reports The audited annual report of Sainsbury plc and Tesco plc of last three years have been critically analysed and quantitative data collected for various ratio analyses to measure the financial performance of both companies. The director reports and independent auditor reports reviewed to identify the business performance. This is one of the main sources of information regards to both companies performances. Newspapers The newspapers read on daily basis to keep informed myself about any external changes in retail industry and plan of action taken by companies to meet these daily challenges. The newspapers which used in research were Guardian The Financial Times and The Independent. Different articles wrote by financial analysts helped to view the insight of companies and the economic change in the industry. Retail Magazine Various retail magazine also used in research work, the main ones are Sainsbury plc Companys monthly magazine Lets Talk help to gain the monthly up-to-date information about future plans and performance appraisal of different stores. The other magazine which also helped in research were The Student Accountant PQ magazine Sunday Times. Internet The Internet contributed an immense role in research work .Number of websites visited on daily basis for information collecting purpose. This source of information mainly emphasised because of benefits associated with it like, i.e. easy to access to the different kind of information, timely available and cost saving. Kaplan Study Notes Kaplan study notes of different papers e.g. F5 Performance Measurement, F7 Financial Reporting, F9 Financial Management, P3 Business Analysis, and P5 Advance Performance Measurement play vital part for research outcome evaluation and conclusion based on these results. Methods Used to Collect Information Interviews Personally visited the Islington Sainsbury Plc store and spoke to different department managers. Having worked in past in this Sainsbury branch helped a lot in whole process. The permission granted to use the information like company memo and other information which have been given in past in capacity of employee of the company. The personally pre set questions have been asked about the performance of Sainsbury plc, and the feedback of operation managers and HR manager noted. Visited whole premises to get the feel of atmosphere and also directly interviews the customers to know how they perceive the Sainsbury plc and its competitor Tesco Plc. Tesco Plc branch in Leytonstone visited on many occasion to interview the various department managers and the work force at the shop floor to get the information about the company operational structure and their supply chain management. Questions have been asked in changing result in company revenue in each quarter sales and the customer changing attitude affected by economic downturn. Library Regularly visited libraries in Leytonstone and Borough high street to read the books written by different research analysts and the news papers, magazines and many project related research notes on UK retail Grocery. This method of research was very helpful to understand the affects of external factors in the grocery industry. Limitations of information gathering and ethical Issues Many problems faced during information gathering process. The staff members of companies were not willing to share the information because of confidentiality issue; the managers were busy in their daily operational activities which made it difficult to access to the desire people for interview. In addition the interviews with company staffs and customers could be also seen as biased as it was not representing the whole population as people from different geographical ethical background have different perception about subject matter. Furthermore the online research was also a difficult task because of overload and irreverent information came out with different searches. The efforts made to sort out and get the relevant information was time consuming and costly. The authenticity of these information sources also had reservations. How to overcome the above ethical issues? Efforts made to build the confidence of the operational staff of the companies to ensure them that the information provided will only use for research purpose and any information given will only use after the permission of information provider. The previous five years work alliance also played a part to gain the trust of engaged interviewee in Sainsbury plc. The problems faced in relate to authenticity of information sources overcame by only used the information from reliable sources. Accounting and Business techniques and their limitations Ratio Analysis Ratio analysis is a most common tool for quantitative analysis of company financial statement by comparing the current year number to budget, previous years results and comparison with industry. Mostly business analysts and potential investors use the ratio analysis to measure the performance of the business. Its a key to determine the relationship between different variable in financial statement. It is easy to calculate and understood by people from non financial background. Limitation of Ratio Analysis The performance measure based on financial ratio analysis tempted manager to short term decision in expense of long term company objectives if the reward based on short term financial performance e.g., cut-off marketing cost which may improve profit in short term but will affect in long term. The ratios are easy to manipulate by Window Dressing and Massaging the Figures (Weaver, 2009) through different accounting policies used. Every company have different economic condition so it is not appropriate to compare them and the accounting policies used by different companies also influence the accounting results. The ratios calculated at particular time may not represent the whole year performance, e.g. effects of seasonal trades and one off transactions. The ratios calculated in isolation are meaningless so it is important to compare the result with preceding years, budget and industry. SWOT Analysis SWOT Analysis is a tool to analyse the strategic position of the company in term of internal (strengths, weaknesses) and external (opportunities, threats) factors. It assists business in strategy development, how to use internal resources, unique capabilities and core competencies to get the competitive advantage. Threats and opportunities arises everyday because of changes in business internal and external environment but with the help of SWOT analysis if the resources allocate on time at right place the threats can be turn into opportunities and weaknesses can be transfer into strengths. (Kaplan Financial- P3, 2009, pp. 78-79) Limitation of SWOT Analysis SWOT Analysis oversimplify the situation by categorise the different situational factors into different class. The categorization of different factors as opportunities or threats, strengths or weaknesses also an arbitrary. People have different views, for example a technology change, or an organisation structure can be an opportunity for one group of people and threat for other group. What is more important is that companies should aware of these changes and use them in their strategic planning to meet the long term objectives of the organisation to increase the wealth of shareholders. (NetMBA, n.d) PART 3 Results, analysis, conclusions and recommendations Note: All of the information used in the graphs presentation has been taken from calculation provided in Appendix. Financial Performance Ratio Analysis Sales Growth Sales growth is the most important factor to measure the market competiveness of any business. Figure 1 Source; (Tesco Plc J Sainsbury Plc Financial Statments, 2008,2009,2010) Sainsburys sales grown-up from 3.99 to 6.02 per cent from 2008 to 2009 but it only increased by 5.57 per cent from 2009 to 2010. Tesco sales grown from 10.92 to 13.95 per cent from 2008 to 2009 but there is huge decline in sales growth of 8.37 per cent from (13.95%) 2009 to (5.58%) 2010 where Sainsbury managed very well and only lose 0.45 per cent as presented in graph. The average sale growth rate of Tesco in last three years is 10.15 per cent which is half way above Sainsbury (5.19%) but it should be keep in mind that Tesco market share is two times of Sainsbury and it is multinational group of companies which can offset the loss of the economic down turn of one country against other country whereas Sainsbury operate in only one country. Figure 2 Source: ( J Sainsbury Plc Financial Statment, 2010,2009 2008) The spin from hybrid strategy towards cost leadership through running campaigns Switch Save Cook Save played a vital part to increase the sales and market share of Sainsbury.Mr Justin King chief executive of Sainsbury said that Sainsbury performance in 2009 was impressive and its surprised many analysts by results because it was expected to find the trading condition tough due to changing attitude of shoppers because of economic recession. The Like-for-like sale to the last quarter 21 March 2009 increased by 6.2 per cent and it served more customers (Samuel, 2009).In 2010 Sainsbury total sales (including VAT fuel) increased by 5.1 per cent, Total sales (including VAT, excluding fuel) increased by 4.3 per cent. The Like-for-like sales increase from 4.3 per cent to 24.4 per cent in 5 years time whereas the total sale increases from 6.7 per cent to 33.9 per cent in 5 year time. (J Sainsbury Plc A.R, 2010, p. 5) Profitability: Gross Profit Margin An increase in percentage of gross profit is desirable which can be achieved through well managed production cost and increase in sale price or volume. (Kaplan Financial- F5, 2010, p. 320) Figure 3 Source: (Tesco Plc J Sainsbury Plc Financial Statments, 2008,2009,2010) Sainsbury Gross Profit (G.P) margin reduced from 5.60 per cent to 5.41 per cent from 2008 to 2010 whereas Tesco gross profit margin increased from 7.67 per cent to 8.10 per cent from 2008 to 2010 as shown in graph. The continuous decline in G.P margin also due to phantom of adverse differential inflation in supermarkets overheads which direct affecting consumer, retailer and economy as whole. (Lex, 2010). Sainsburys cost of sale increased by 6.18 per cent from 2008 to 2009 and 5.63 per cent from 2009 to 2010 whereas sale growth rate is only 6.02 and 5.57 per cent respectively in each year as mention earlier which is not in line with cost of sale and result in G.P margin declined. In addition Sainsburys market penetration strategy in competition of other low prices stores through multi saving offers although increased the company market share but the G.P margin suffered. Net Profit Margin It is the percentage of net profit to sale. A higher net profit margin desirable which can be achieved through efficient cost saving or increasing sale prices. (Kaplan Financial- F5, 2010, p. 320) Figure 4 Source: (Tesco Plc J Sainsbury Plc Financial Statments, 2008,2009,2010) Sainsbury Net Profit Margin increased from 2.69 per cent to 3.67 per cent from 2008 to 2010 the period in which Tesco Net Profit margin reduced from 5.92 per cent to 5.58 per cent as projected above. Sainsbury N.P margin reduced in 2009 but they recovered very well and showed improvement on each areas i.e. underlying operating profit increased by 8.9 per cent, underlying profit before tax increased by 17.5 per cent and profit before tax and after tax increased by 57.3 per cent and 102.4 per respectively from 2009 to 2010. Return on Capital Employed (ROCE) Return on capital employed (ROCE) is a key measure of profitability. It measure the net profit generated through each of $1 invested in the assets. It is the net profit percentage of capital employed. A higher ROCE percentage is desirable which can be achieved through increase net profit margin or decrease capital employed. (Kaplan Financial- F5, 2010, p. 320) Figure 5 Source: (Tesco Plc J Sainsbury Plc Financial Statments, 2008,2009,2010) Sainsbury ROCE was not even near to Tesco in 2008 and 2009 but the encouraging factor is that its ROCE continuously improving in this period. It increased from 9.70 per cent to 14.76 per cent from 2008 to 2010 which is excellent performance whereas Tesco suffering a decline in ROCE in this period. Liquidity The liquidity measure the ability of the company to utilize its resources to meet its financial commitments. It is more important to have effective working capital management than profitable business, a profitable business can encounter problem if its run out cash flow. Current Ratio This is the current assets divided by current liabilities which measure the company ability to meet its short term liabilities. A ratio more than $1 is desirable but it varies according to industry type .Continue decline in current ratio or less than industry average indicate the financial difficulties. (Kaplan Financial- F5, 2010, p. 323) Figure 6 Source: (Tesco Plc J Sainsbury Plc Financial Statments, 2008,2009,2010) Sainsbury Current Ratio (0.65:1) was better than Tesco (0.61:1) in 2008 but it reduced by 15 per cent (0.55:1) in 2009 whereas Tesco current ratio improved by 18 per cent (0.77:1) in 2009 as stated above. The cause for this downturn in current ratio of Sainsbury because its total current assets reduced by 7.6 per cent due to the disposal of Non current assets held for sale in 2009 relating to properties in retail operations division, reduced by 91 per cent and reduction in cash and cash equivalents. Sainsbury current ratio come back to 2008 position (0.66:1) in 2010 due to the shortfall in cash and cash equivalent resources fulfilled and more non current assets placed for sale. Inventory Holding Period (In Days) It indicate the average number of days the inventory held in stock. The increase in inventory days shows that the company having problem to sell its stock and risk of obsolete stock increase. A decrease in inventory period is desirable but it should be manage effectively to minimise the risk of stock run out. (Kaplan Financial- F5, 2010, p. 323) Figure 7 Source: (Tesco Plc J Sainsbury Plc Financial Statments, 2008,2009,2010) Sainsbury inventory holding period reduced from 14.76 days to 13.6 days a reduction of 7.9 per cent from 2008 to 2010 whereas Tesco reduced from 20.31 to 19.04 days a reduction of 6.2 per cent in the same period which is a good performance by Sainsbury but what is the optimal inventory holding period for the industry is arguable which is very much dependent on the external factor like customer demand, company warehouse capacity and supply chain efficiency. Receivable Period (In Days) It represents the number of days companies allow to its customers to pay back for goods and services. The shorter receivable period desirable to maximises the cash inflows and reduce the risk of debt irrecoverable. (Kaplan Financial- F5, 2010, p. 324) Figure 8 Source: (Tesco Plc J Sainsbury Plc Financial Statments, 2008,2009,2010) The results presented above in relation to receivable days shows that Sainsbury have very effective credit management policy and allow only four days on average to their customers where as Tesco average period of twelve days which is two times above Sainsbury. Supermarket businesses normally base on cash transaction and during economic recession where people struggling to meet their utility bills allowing them of 12 days credit period increases the risk of debt irrecoverable Sainsbury aware of this fact and the credit period of four days more tolerable. Payable Period (In Days) This is number of days business take to pay back its trade creditors .The increase in payable days suggest that company struggling to pay its creditors on time however it also suggest that business take advantage to the credit offer to them. The decrease is payable days indicate that company ability to pay its creditor improving however it should not pay too early as it a valuable source of finance. it should be manage carefully so that the relation with suppliers are not hurt and where the discount offered for early payments the opportunities avail. (Kaplan Financial- F5, 2010, p. 324) Figure 9 Source: (Tesco Plc J Sainsbury Plc Financial Statments, 2008,2009,2010) Sainsbury on average takes 49 days to payback its trade creditors and Tesco takes 63 days credit which is 22 per cent higher than Sainsbury. It indicate that Tesco struggling to pay its trade creditors on time which also reflected from its gearing position as mention below. Sainsbury payable period increased from 49 days to 51 days from 2008 to 2009 an increase of 2.8 per cent the period in which Tesco increased from 62 days to 64 days an increase of 3.4 per cent. Sainsbury payable period reduced to 48 days in 2010 a decrease of 6.2 per cent from 2009 to 2010 whereas Tesco further increased to 66 days an increase of 3.6 per cent. The reason of this reduction in Sainsbury credit period of 2010 seem to be because of improving cash and cash equivalent resources of Sainsbury as shown in current ratio above but it require further investigation. It could be due to early payment discount opportunity taken or could be suppliers pressure because of economic recession. Risk Assessment Risk can be defined as Opportunity of business to adverse consequences due to uncertain future event. (Kaplan Financial- P3, 2009) Today in volatile market condition it is now even more important that business should have effective risk assessment policy and procedure. Financial Gearing It is percentage of long term debt to equity .If the percentage increases it indicate that business heavily relaying on debt finance to meet its long term needs which increase the level of risk as the interest on debt and capital repayment must be made. The ratio can be improved by using the equity finance for long term investment. (Kaplan Financial- F5, 2010, p. 325) Figure 10 Source: (Tesco Plc J Sainsbury Plc Financial Statments, 2008,2009,2010) Sainsburys Financial gearing portfolio much better than competitor Tesco. It only increased from 51 per cent to 62 per cent an increase of 21.7 per cent whereas Tesco increased by 56 per cent from (66.92%) 2008 to (104.4%) 2010which is very risk.It indicate that Sainsbury not much depending on debt finance unlike to Tesco and using retain earning for growth plan which is appropriate risk averse strategy under current financial market conditions where big names like Woolworth already gone from market. Interest Cover It is the operating profit before interest and tax divided by finance cost which indicates the business ability to pay off its finance commitment. If the percentage increase it indicate that the business condition improving but if the percentage decline it indicate it is getting difficult for business to pay off the interest charges. (Kaplan Financial- F5, 2010, p. 326) Figure 11 Source: (Tesco Plc J Sainsbury Plc Financial Statments, 2008,2009,2010) Sainsbury is showing signs of progress in interest cover with the percentage of 4.02 per cent to 4.8 per cent from 2008 to 2010 represent growth of 19.4 per cent from 2008 to 2010.The cause of this improvement is because of improvement in operating profit which increase by 34 per cent profit due to effective management of all operating expenses whereas their competitor Tesco facing expected decline of 46.5 per cent (11.6 to 5.97 percent) in interest cover which is in line with its increasing financial gearing of 56 per cent as seen earlier. Dividend Cover It is the net profit divided by dividend amount. A decrease in the dividend cover indicates that company facing difficulty to pay the dividend to shareholders. (Kaplan Financial- F5, 2010, p. 326) Figure 12 Source: (Tesco Plc J Sainsbury Plc Financial Statments, 2008,2009,2010) Sainsburys figure in term of dividend cover improving even though it declined from 1.85 to 1.33 from 2008 to 2009 a reduction of 28 percent due to the fact that net profit in 2009 decreased by 12.2 percent as we seen earlier but Sainsbury maintained shareholders expectation and paid off dividend with growth rate of 22 percent result in decline in dividend cover. The results of 2010 are really impressive the net profit increased by 102 percent as we notice above N.P graph, the dividend grown-up by only 10.6 percent which result in dividend cover increased by 82.8 percent from 2009 (1.33) to 2010 (2.43) while Its competitor Tesco facing decline in dividend cover of 10.4 per cent from 2008 (2.68) to 2010 (2.4). Earnings Per Share (EPS) EPS is the fundamental investor ratio which can be calculated by total earning less preference share divided by total number of share. It determine the profitability of company and widely used by investors. (Kaplan Financial- F5, 2010, p. 327) Figure 13 Source: (Tesco Plc J Sainsbury Plc Financial Statments, 2008,2009,2010) Sainsbury EPS results are showing outstanding performance although it reduced from 19.1 to 16.6 a reduction of 13 percent but Sainsbury recover very well at 32.1p in 2010 which is 93.3 percent improvement from 2009 (16.6p) and left behind its competitor Tesco (29.33p) by 2.8p who was above Sainsbury in 2008 (26.95p) and 2009 (27.14p) by 7.5p and 10.8p respectively as shown in graph. Dividend per Share (DPS) Dividend per share is very important tool for investor which measures what is the dividend company have given of each share it hold. (Kaplan Financial- F5, 2010, p. 327) Figure 14 Source: (Tesco Plc J Sainsbury Plc Financial Statments, 2008,2009,2010) Sainsbury DPS ahead of its competitor Tesco each year from 2008 to 2010.It increased from 12p to 14.2p from 2008 to 2010 an increase of 18.3 percent whereas Tesco dividend per share grown up from 10.9p to 13.05p an increase of 23.9 per cent but still behind Sainsbury. Business Performance SWOT Analysis Strengths Strong Brand Value Sainsbury Plc has long history of brand since 1869 and customer loyalty toward Sainsbury brand very strong. It has very dominant geographical presence throughout United Kingdom with 872 stores in which 537 are Supermarkets and 335 Convenience stores. Sainsbury serves 19m customers on average each week and enjoyed market share of 16 percent. Sainsbury is the world largest retailer of fair-trade goods by value. According to annual report of 2010 In UK one in every four pounds spent on fair-trade is spent at a Sainsburys store. (J Sainsbury Plc A.R, 2010, p. 5) Retail Awards Sainsbury won Supermarket of the Year Award in 2009 and 2007 in retail industry awards. It awarded A rating in Green to the Core survey carried by consumer group due to their customer engagement, fish policies, and sustainable product availability. It is the biggest retailer of Freedom Food (RSPCAs farm assurance and food labelling scheme) by amount and product range. It won CBI Peoples Organisation award because of their HR and people management excellence. Sainsbury won many retail quality awards in 2010 than any other supermarket which include seven out of fifteen categories for value product quality. (J Sainsbury Plc A.R, 2010, p. 12).In 2010 Sainsbury failed to take the supermarket of the year award run by Talkingretail.com but it secure other three awards of Community Retailer of the Year, Seafood Retailer of the Year and Convenience Chain of the Year for Sainsburys Local. (Dennis, Mike, 2010) Financial Strength Sainsbury Financial position improving as reflected in above analyses which create significant opportunities for future growth. Business created operation cash flow of  £1.2bn in 2010, Net debt reduced by  £122m in 2010 to  £1,549m (2009:  £1,679).Sainsbury Group remain  £3bn funding availability through debt finance which enough to fulfil future ambitions. Sainsburys bank also showed better growth with operating profit increase by  £19m. (J Sainsbury Plc A.R, 2010, p. 6) Opportunities: Nectar Card Sainsbury Nectar card scheme which launched in 2002 with joint venture of Sainsbury Plc, American Express and B.P (Wikipedia, n.d) have been very successful due to its unique character of customer choice to use the loyalty card on multiple brands unlike competitor Tesco club card which dont allow this freedom of choice. Nectar card scheme is a great opportunity for Sainsbury to evaluate the c