
To find total asset turnover, you need to know the formula: Total Asset Turnover = Sales / Total Assets. This formula is the key to understanding how efficiently a company is using its assets to generate sales.
The first step is to find the company's sales revenue, which can be found on the income statement. This is usually listed as "Total Revenue" or "Sales Revenue".
Next, you need to find the company's total assets, which can be found on the balance sheet. This includes all of the company's assets, such as cash, inventory, and property, plant, and equipment.
Now that you have both numbers, you can plug them into the formula to find the total asset turnover.
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What Is Total Asset Turnover?
Total asset turnover is a measure of how efficiently a company uses its assets to generate sales. It's calculated by dividing net sales by total or average assets.
Net sales are the amount of revenue generated after deducting sales returns, sales discounts, and sales allowances. This is an important consideration because it shows the actual revenue a company has earned, rather than just the gross sales figure.
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The asset turnover ratio formula is equal to net sales divided by the total or average assets of a company. A company with a high asset turnover ratio operates more efficiently as compared to competitors with a lower ratio.
Average total assets is the average of total assets at year-end of the current and preceding fiscal year. Note that an analyst may use either average or end-of-period assets.
The asset turnover ratio is an excellent indicator of the efficiency with which a company can use assets to generate revenue. Typically, total asset turnover ratio is calculated on an annual basis, although if needed it can be calculated over a shorter or longer timeframe.
Here's a quick summary of the key points:
- Net sales are revenue generated after deducting sales returns, sales discounts, and sales allowances.
- Average total assets is the average of total assets at year-end of the current and preceding fiscal year.
- A high asset turnover ratio indicates a company operates more efficiently.
Calculating Total Asset Turnover
The total asset turnover ratio is calculated by dividing the net sales of a company by the average balance of its total assets.
To calculate the average total assets, you need to find the average between the beginning and end of period asset balances.
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This ratio is a key indicator of a company's efficiency in using its assets to generate sales.
Net sales are calculated by deducting discounts, allowances, and returns from gross sales.
The asset turnover ratio is typically expressed as a rational number, which may be a whole number or include a decimal.
For example, if a company has a total turnover of 1.0x, it means the company's net sales are equivalent to the average total assets in the period.
To calculate the total asset turnover ratio, you can use the formula: Net Sales ÷ Average Total Assets.
Here's an example calculation: Total Asset Turnover Ratio, Year 1 = $300 million ÷ AVERAGE($145 million, $156 million) = 2.0x.
To ensure accurate comparisons, make sure the net sales calculations are pulled from the same period when comparing the asset turnover ratio between companies.
Average total assets are found by taking the average of the beginning and ending assets of the period being analyzed.
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Fixed Asset Turnover
The fixed asset turnover ratio is a key metric that helps you understand how efficiently a company is using its fixed assets to generate sales. It's a variation of the total asset turnover ratio, but it only includes long-term fixed assets, such as property, plant, and equipment (PP&E), in the calculation.
To calculate the fixed asset turnover ratio, you'll need to divide a company's net sales by the value of its average fixed assets. Net sales are calculated by subtracting returns, discounts, and allowances from gross sales.
The fixed asset turnover ratio is often used as a proxy for how efficiently a company has invested in long-term assets. This is because the initial purchase and maintenance of PP&E can be costly, so each spending decision should be made carefully to avoid creating operating inefficiencies.
Here's a quick formula to keep in mind:
- Net Sales = Gross Sales – Returns – Discounts – Allowances
- Average Fixed Assets = (Beginning Fixed Assets + Ending Fixed Assets) ÷ 2
In a real-world example, let's say a company had net sales of $300 million in Year 1 and an average PP&E balance of $87.5 million (the average of $85 million and $90 million). The fixed asset turnover ratio would be 3.4x, calculated by dividing $300 million by $87.5 million.
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The fixed asset turnover ratio can be a useful metric to track over time, as it can help you see if a company is using its assets more efficiently. For instance, if the total turnover ratio increases from 2.0x to 2.6x over five years, while the fixed turnover ratio increases from 3.4x to 4.7x, it could indicate that the company is using its assets more efficiently.
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Interpreting
Interpreting the asset turnover ratio is crucial to understand how efficiently a company is using its assets to produce sales. A higher ratio is favorable, indicating a more efficient use of assets.
Companies with low profit margins tend to generate a higher asset turnover ratio, while capital-intensive industries tend to report a lower ratio. This is because industries with low profit margins often need to sell more products to make a profit, resulting in a higher asset turnover ratio.
To calculate the total asset turnover ratio, you'll need to divide net sales by average total assets. This is done by using the average total assets across the measured net sales period to align the timing between both metrics.
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The asset turnover ratio can vary greatly depending on the industry, so it's essential to compare it across similar companies. Comparing the ratio across companies within the same sector provides a more accurate picture of a company's efficiency.
Here are some key points to consider when interpreting the asset turnover ratio:Low Asset Turnover Ratio: Often indicates excess production capacity or inefficient inventory managementHigh Asset Turnover Ratio: Suggests the company is allocating capital and deriving more benefits from its assets
An asset turnover ratio equal to one means the net sales of a company for a specific period are equal to the average assets for that period. This indicates that the company generates $1 of sales for every dollar the firm carries in assets.
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Sources
- https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/accounting/asset-turnover-ratio/
- https://www.wallstreetprep.com/knowledge/asset-turnover-ratio/
- https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/032415/how-asset-turnover-calculated.asp
- https://gocardless.com/en-us/guides/posts/how-calculate-total-asset-turnover-ratio/
- https://www.carboncollective.co/sustainable-investing/asset-turnover
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