Investing Comment |
|
Your Money > Investing Comment Articles > Ready to roll...
|
By Richard Hunter, hargreaves Lansdown
A fellow guest on BBC Radio 5's "Wake up to Money" this morning was asked to comment on a topic which has taken on some significance over recent months, namely the ability of companies to refinance. Many companies are reliant on access to credit in order to preserve their cashflow. There have been all too many examples of late where the withdrawal of credit has immediately pushed a company into administration, even though the underlying business is still intact. Furthermore this is not a small matter. It is estimated that the refinancing requirements for UK companies during the course of this year will exceed £110 billion. Up until the onset of the credit crunch, refinancing was seen as something which was very straightforward. The "rolling over" of credit, whether by way of a bond, loan (or for smaller companies an overdraft) was agreed with the lender with a minimum of fuss, in what was a borrower friendly environment. Things are certainly different now. It has become a lenders' market and even for those companies which successfully negotiate refinancing, it may not be on such favourable terms. In addition, the general deterioration in sentiment and credit quality has meant that some of these companies become less of an attractive prospect to which to lend. In any event, the major lenders such as the banks have less money to lend - they are currently looking to shore up their balance sheets with the possibility of further credit writedowns and regulatory capital cushions in mind. As such, there may be a number of further corporate administrations to come as more companies chase less available funding, with the inevitable outcome that those with most reliance on credit funding are most vulnerable. Before this worst case scenario becomes reality, though, companies have a number of other options to consider which may ease the burden. The first port of call will be to reduce costs, which traditionally would mean casting a close eye on the two factors which tend to be the largest, namely staff and technology. As evidenced by the current rise in unemployment and lack of IT investment, this is already in train for many. At the same time, any other capital expenditure plans can also be put under the spotlight and then abandoned unless they are essential to the business continuing. The dividend (which, after all, is a discretionary payment to shareholders) could also be reduced or even cut completely - news which is usually badly received by the market, but which at the moment is finding acceptance as it represents something of a sign of the times, as a declaration to survive with the hope eventually to prosper. The recent announcement that the rules for rights issues may be streamlined, allowing a company to raise two-thirds of existing capital without the need for an EGM, could also prompt cash-starved firms to place more emphasis on this option. The fact that the ability to raise further capital is one of the reasons why companies choose to float in the first place may also come more sharply into focus if refinancing talks should stutter. Finally, there is the possibility of financing from other lenders, although depending on the source, the terms may be less favourable. In any event, this is an increasingly topical theme which investors may need to bear in mind, particularly if the sectors in which they have an interest are ones which rely heavily on the availability of credit for their cashflow. It may also be another reason (for those looking to invest) to consider cash rich companies with a stable income flow as being much lower down the risk scale. Richard J Hunter is Head of UK Equities at Hargreaves Lansdown Stockbrokers Useful links: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||