Both these elements have undergone decreases of around - 45% in 2002, due, perhaps, to an increase in financial and operational costs. Solvency Ratios

Mainly, solvency ratios are aimed to point out towards two important issues. First of all, the company's capacity to pay its debts during a certain period of time. Second of all, the rate at which the company is using the financial leverage or the proportion of debt as a source of finance for the company's actions.

The times interest earned ratio is determined by dividing the earnings before tax and interest (EBIT) to the overall value of interest related costs. The TIE ratio is important because it shows by what values the company's earnings can vary without affecting the capacity of paying interest rates and covering lending costs. A low TIE may be a signal that the company is about to have financial difficulties and encounter problems with the creditors.

In Estee Lauder's case, the TIE was the same during the analyzed period, remaining at 1.0 from 2000 to 2004. Of course, the TIE depends on the company's preference of using a higher or lower financial leverage, but in this case, the financial leverage is extended at maximum. Practically, the company is running as risky as it can and any decreasing variations of profits can bring prejudices to the company's solvability. Interest rate spending is equal to the company's EBIT and in no case should the margin decrease any more.

Asset Efficiency Ratios

The asset efficiency ratios show the rate of efficiency with which the company is using the assets it currently holds. In general, these ratios are calculated by comparing the company's net sales to different components of the company's total assets. The total asset turnover and the fixed asset turnover are the best financial ratios in this case, as they show the degree of efficiency with which the company is using its fixed assets and its total assets.

The fixed-assets turnover shows the efficiency with which the company...

Analyzing the trend during the period 2000-2004, the -8.6% decrease in 2002 can perhaps indicate a certain loss in efficiency during that year. However, a simpler explanation can be found when analyzing the trend of total assets and current assets during this period of time. As such, total current assets grew in value with 10.9% in 2002 as compared to 2001, while the value of total assets grew only with 6.1%.
The total-assets turnover has remained at constant values during the analyzed period, although the total asset value grew with 21.9% in 2004 as compared to 2000. During the same period, however, net sales grew with similar values.

Market Tests

The market tests and market value ratios evaluate the company's current situation on the stock exchange, as well as stock related issues such as its dividend policy. The earnings per share ratio, evaluating how earnings are reported to the total number of shares, have followed the same trend as most of the other indicators evaluated so far. After a constant 1.2 value over 2000 and 2001, the earnings per share ratio decreased to almost half that value in 2002, only to regain in 2003 and 2004. If the total number of outstanding shares is more or less constant (it ranges around 230), then it is likely that the overall number of shares has increased following a market operation such as splitting the share value or even a new emission. This may be reasoned and consolidated by the evolution of the share price during the analyzed period, with values dropping in 2002, only to grow extensively in 2005.

The price per earnings ratio shows how much investors are willing to pay on each dollar that is being reported as earned. A constantly high P/E would show a generous trend, with a stable prospect of development in the future. An overview over the 2000-2005 period shows that the company has suffered an important setback in 2003, with P/E dropping to half the value of the previous year. 2004 brought a comeback, but the values…