In terms of liquidity Delta is not doing so well. Their current ratio has deteriorated consecutively the past four years and is the lowest in the past decade at .49. Delta’s Quick ratio of .35 reported in the last quarter is concerning considering anything below 1 may be an indicator of bankruptcy. Furthermore, their quick ratio has decreased by an annual average of about 5% in the past decade. (The quick ratio is particularly important in evaluating a company in the airline industry because they are capital intensive.) While the industry generally has lower quick ratios than others, Delta’s is significantly lower than the industry average reported in 2012 as 4.68.
In terms of solvency, Delta has done very well. Except for the recession
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Delta’s ROA in 2015 and 2016 of 8.44% and 8.38% respectively were well above the industry averages of 5.4% and 5.1%.
Delta’s key financial strategy is to maximize shareholder returns. They have been able to pay their shareholders by increasing their free cash flow by an average of 152% annually since 2010. Their free cash flow is much higher than the industry average and they have done so by limiting capital spending as much as possible by purchasing used aircrafts.
Even though Delta is lagging in liquidity, their low current assets and quick ratio may be attributed to the low cost of their assets, which also happens to be part of their key strategy of maximizing shareholder wealth. This strategy has lead them to be the leader in the industry
Strategic Objectives
During Delta’s Annual Investor’s day in December of 2015, company President Ed Bastian stressed the importance of their investors. He said, “Much of what we want to do today is grow that confidence level in the marketplace and in the investor base, and continue to pursue higher returns for our owners.” He also emphasized the importance of long-term goals and not relying on short-term benefits, such as cheaper fuel prices. The chief human resources officer attributed their success to their employee culture and said that they “deliver results time and time again”. Bastian also spoke about the importance of international partnerships for long-term success, investment in technology, and offering
The liquidity of firm can be measured by computing certain ratio’s such as current ratio and acid ratio. For measuring Target Corporation’s 2014 liquidity; the firm’s current ratio and the acid ratio is computed. The company’s current ratio is 0.91 times which is computed by comparing current asset ($11, 573,000) with current liabilities ($12,777, 000) of the year 2014 (TGT Company Financial, n.d). The firm’s acid ratio is 0.26 times which is computed by deducting inventory ($8,278,000) from current assets. The inventory is deducted from current assets because the company has not received any money for the unfinished good or from unsold inventory worth ($8,278,000). To analyze the Target Corporation’s liquidity trend in 2014; the current ratio and acid ratio of 2014 is compared with the 2015’s ratios. In 2015, the firm’s current ratio was 1.20 times and the acid ratio was 0.45 times. These liquidity ratios reflect that the firm’s liquidity was better in 2015 than 2014. (See Table 1).
First of which, is the current ratio. It has been rapidly declining since 2000. To me this indicates that there is a liquidity issue. Each year their trade debt increase exceeds the increase of net income for the company. As a result, the working capital has taken a nosedive from $58,650 in 2002 to only $5,466 in 2003.
A more tell tale sign is the quick ratio, or acid test, which has increased year after year. Debt to total assets has decreased over 5% since 2001, indicating less financing of current and long term debt and more company assets. Their cash debt coverage far surpasses the ideal 20%, indicating a high level of solvency with sufficient funds and assets to satisfy all debtors. Asset turnover has more or less maintained at right around 1.6, signifying a turnover rate of just less than 180 times per year.
The technology portion of their company has grown tremendously which has caused so much of their growth. In addition, they found the perfect formula to appeal to and retain customers. Most of their customers are loyal to their company and insist on sticking to their products. Their market capitalization, $639,922 million, is extremely high compared to other companies in their industry They returned about $8 billion to shareholders during their quarter. Also, their gross margins, currently at 38.01%, are high at passed by
Here I did selected Delta Airlines as a company for my research. This company is providing a wide range of the air traffic facilities in different parts of the world. In other words we can say that there are many operational routs of this airline company and all the routes are very much beneficial. Another uniqueness of this company is a verity of airplanes including airbuses and jumbo etc. At this time the company owns more than seven hundred different aeroplanes of different size and capacity. Delta Airline is providing facilities to the people of the world to more from one place to another by air. The services and
in revenue passenger-kilometers flown with 277.6 billion. In 2015 their revenue was up $40.704 billion, operating income was up $9.520 billion, and net income of $926 million. Delta’s total assets were down in 2015 with $53.134 billion. Total equity was up with $10.85 billion. The results that we will be discussing will include the RPM, ASM, and Load Factor from May 2015 and May 2016. The results will show the year to date traffic results and the monthly traffic results change.
Excellent equity position: $820 Million cash on books so they are well positioned for growth.
Delta has been focusing on technological innovations but they need to keep on doing that to be profitable.
This report provides an examinaion of the current structure, performance, stragergy and management of Delta Airlines, along with an industry analysis of the airline industry. The report uses current and past financial and statistical data for the company along with other up to date material to determine Delta's current market position and future potential.
Delta “focuses on shifting their cost structure from fixed to variable costs as much as possible.” (https://rctom.hbs.org/submission/delta-airlines-flying-high-in-a-competitive-industry/) Delta also understands the importance the importance of delivering top notch customer service to appeal to their principal demographic, business travelers. They have incorporated a training work-shop so employees have a better understanding of how to solve travel disruptions that customers deal with. Employees also learn how to help insure that baggage performance is up to par with a low amount of mishandled bags reports from customers. Delta has done this by incorporating a way for customers to track their bags using a mobile app. In the Business Travel News Delta has been ranked #1 by corporate flyers for four years in a row. I believe the business level strategies that Delta has incorporated have been a good choice for their business. Their strategies have helped them to gain a competitive advantage from customer service and great operating cost flexibility.
WWAV current and quick ratios trended downward and remained lower than the industry’s average of 2.33 and 0.75. In 2011, the company’s current ratio was 1.58 but dropped to 1.19 in 2012 indicating an increase of current liabilities year over year. While WWAV current liabilities are increasing, their current assets rising only slightly. The company’s quick ratio in 2011 was 1.04 and trended down to its current 0.73 standing, which is slightly lower than the median quartile.
Delta’s stock is greater than the S&P 500 index. It has been increasing from 2011 to 2015 closets to 4.60. Comparing with the competitors, the companies keep increasing their stock prices which indicates a steady source of income for investors. Delta comes second after American because American has been increasing their stock prices.
From the humble financial portfolio as a crop dusting outfit in the mid twentieth century, to the multi-billion dollar portfolio of a major airline in the twenty first century, Delta Air Lines has risen as a successful business. The airline industry is directly affected by outside economic conditions and is also cyclical in nature. These factors make it very difficult for airlines to make predictions to stay financially afloat. Delta has ridden the bumpy path of the last twenty years and managed to survive. In the past twenty years there has been many events that
This paper will review the case study of Delta Airlines which was suffering like all its competitors with rising fuel costs which averaged anywhere between 30 to 50 percent of its total operating costs. This paper will answer six questions which will help identify what the company did to handle the high cost of fuel. The questions that I will answer will include the following.
As with all airlines, Delta’s recent performance has been significantly impacted by industry shifts and external events. Terrorist attacks and escalating costs have significantly impacted Delta’s profitability in recent history (Rivkin 4). The company has also been losing valuable market share to the low-cost carrier Southwest Airlines throughout the southeast and specifically in the lucrative Florida market (Rivkin 8). JetBlue also began encroaching on key Delta routes, and this seems only likely to increase (Rivkin 9). Despite this, Delta has still performed better than any other legacy carrier (Rivkin 8). Still, recent history has brought several changes to this legacy carrier, and the company has turned its attention towards new competitive strategies.