Tuesday, June 11, 2019

Comparisons Between European, United States, and Japanese Chemical Companies


This blog attempts to provide some general financial comparisons between representative European, United States, and Japanese chemical companies.   Tables 1, 2, and 3, below, show 2018 financial data for four representative chemical companies from each area.


table 1   Europe              performance measure
basf
clariant
dsm
evonik
average
earnings per share
6.04
1.2
7.19
2.36
4.2
price to earnings ratio
11.78
18.09
11.71
12.1
13.4
% dividend yield
5.3
2.95
3.22
4.75
4.1
price/share divided by operating cash flow/share
7.09
11.7
11.13
6.6
9.1
return on equity %
13.04
12
13.81
11.9
12.7
one-year sales growth %
2.37
3.86
7.36
4.5
4.5
gross profit margin %
29.29
29.2
36.74
30.8
31.5
operating profit margin %
9.63
8.24
13.43
9.1
10.1
net income profit margin %
7.5
5.28
11.64
6.2
7.7
non-current liabilities divided by equity %
75.1
92.02
41.65
116.3
81.3
sales per employee
603,814
436,321
522,199
462,099
506,108
table 2  United States               performance measure
eastman
huntsman
kraton
westlake
average
earnings per share
7.56
2.54
2.1
7.66
5.0
price to earnings ratio
9.55
8.29
12.15
8.29
9.6
% dividend yield
3.19
3.09
0
1.45
1.9
price/share divided by operating cash flow/share
10.25
4.47
4.46
5.83
6.3
return on equity %
18.61
23.64
8.77
16.39
16.9
one-year sales growth %
6.3
12.35
2.65
7.39
7.2
gross profit margin %
24.24
21.7
28.83
23.01
24.4
operating profit margin %
15.29
11.07
12.48
16.31
13.8
net income profit margin %
10.64
6.63
3.33
11.53
8.0
non-current liabilities divided by equity %
142
131
241
71.48
146.4
sales per employee
700,069
940,000
1,050,000
973,500
915,892
table 3  Japan            performance measure
jsr
mitsui
teijin
tosoh
average
earnings per share
1.41
3.37
2.24
2.48
2.4
price to earnings ratio
10.99
9.2
7.28
5.24
8.2
% dividend yield
3.03
1.64
3.33
3.16
2.8
price/share divided by operating cash flow/share
8.56
8.47
4.28
3.88
6.3
return on equity %
8.8
16.29
12.44
19.34
14.2
one-year sales growth %
8.62
9.59
12.64
10.74
10.4
gross profit margin %
30.84
23.29
33.25
29.3
29.2
operating profit margin %
10.33
7.8
8.36
15.87
10.6
net income profit margin %
8.29
5.95
5.64
11.09
7.7
non-current liabilities divided by equity %
19.94
85.4
79.66
14.88
50.0
sales per employee
530,073
723,792
378,733
591,507
556,026


Data are provided for eleven financial performance indicators.  These eleven indicators are commonly used to evaluate a company’s financial performance.  For the monetary data in the tables (earnings per share and sales per employee), the currency is the US dollar.  The data were obtained from each company’s 2018 annual report.  For non-current liabilities, total non-current liabilities (not just financial but also pension and other non-current liabilities) are used.

Table 4, below, shows the averages of the four companies in each area (averages taken for tables 1, 2, and 3).


table 4             comparison
europe
usa
japan
standout
earnings per share
4.2
5
2.4
none
price to earnings ratio
13.4
9.6
8.2
europe
% dividend yield
4.1
1.9
2.8
europe
price/share divided by operating cash flow/share
9.1
6.3
6.3
none
return on equity %
12.7
16.9
14.2
none
one-year sales growth %
4.5
7.2
10.4
japan
gross profit margin %
31.5
24.4
29.2
none
operating profit margin %
10.1
13.8
10.6
none
net income profit margin %
7.7
8
7.7
none
non-current liabilities divided by equity %
81.3
146.4
50
usa
sales per employee
506,108
915,892
556,026
usa


Table 4 shows that for some of the financial performance indicators, one area has an average for its four companies that stands out (for example, a significant percentage difference exists from the averages of the other two areas).

Here are some comments based on the data in Table 4:

·         The European chemical companies, on average, are priced higher per share but also provide a significantly better dividend return;
·         Companies in all three areas have good cash flow (based on reasonably low price per share to operating cash flow per share ratio);
·         Returns on equity are reasonably good for the companies in three areas;
·         Japan’s one-year sales growth from 2017 to 2018 stands out;
·         Gross profit, operating income, and net income margin percentages are comparable for the three areas;
·         The USA chemical companies’ total non-current liabilities exceed their total equity, perhaps a worrisome sign; and
·         On the other hand, the sales per employee is significantly higher for the USA companies, usually a good sign.

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