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Comparative Analysis of Financial Statements Between Two Companies

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A Case Report on the Financial Statements of Reed Elsevier and Thomson Corporation Executive Summary With the objective to understand the business performance of the two entities, we reviewed the 2007 financial statements of both company and tried to obtain some insight on the profitability and solvency of each entity. The two companies we study are: Reed Elsevier and Thomson, in the filed of information and publishing. Reed Elsevier is listed in below stock exchanges: REN (Euronext Amsterdam), REL (London), RUK and ENL (NYSE). Thomson was shown (before acquiring Reuters) as TOC (NYSE) and TOC (TSX). As the two multinational companies we are studying covering diversified businesses, here in the article we are only …show more content…

Net Income from Discontinued Operations
 The amount shown on the income statement under discontinued operations is the profit made during the period from the businesses that will not be a part of the company in the future. The net profit for the year of Reed Elsevier is higher almost by 50% due to the profit made from discontinued operations. The net profit of the Thompson Corporation has also grown by almost 4 times, which is also due mostly to the earnings from discontinued operations. Net Profit Margin Now let’s see how much profit a company makes for every $ 1 it generates in revenue. Profit margins vary by industry, but all else being equal, the higher a company’s profit margin compared to its competitors, the better. Reed Elsevier: 1,713 / 6,693= 0.26 Thompson: 1,096 / 7,296 = 0.15 Return on Equity (ROE) One of the most important profitability metrics is return on equity. Return on equity reveals how much profit a company earned in comparison to the total amount of shareholder equity. It’s what the shareholders “own”. A business that has a high return on equity is more likely to be one that is capable of generating cash internally. For the most part, the higher a company’s return on equity compared to its industry, the better. Let’s calculate ROE for Thomson: the earnings for 2007 were 4,004, and

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