Liquidity

Liquidity is the degree to which a corporation can satisfy its short-term obligations using cash flows and assets that can be quickly converted into cash. In this context, liquidity refers to the available cash, borrowing power, and ability to turn other assets into cash.

Liquidity management describes a company’s ability to generate cash whenever it needs to meet its short-term obligations. Effective liquidity management means that a company can manage its significant sources of liquidity efficiently. Although these sources of liquidity tend to vary from one company to another, they include primary and secondary sources of liquidity.

Primary Sources of Liquidity

Primary liquidity sources refer to funds readily accessible to a company at a relatively low cost. They can be held as cash or cash equivalents, and they include the following:

• Cash and marketable securities on hand: The liquidation of near-cash securities, investment income, and bank balances are three examples.
• Borrowings: These consist of a company’s short-term investment portfolios, trade credit, and bank lines of credit.
• Cash flow from the business: These are operating cash flows after taxes and fewer short- and long-term investments.

Primary sources of liquidity demonstrate how well an organization’s cash management processes are working. The more decentralized a company is, the more limited a firm’s free cash flow is. Analysts track an issuer’s cash flow information using the statement of cash flows. Analysts can calculate cash flow measures from the statement of cash flows.

1. Cash flow from operations: It measures an issuer’s primary business activities’ cash profit over time, calculated as follows.Cash received from customers.Plus: Interest and dividends received on financial investments

   Minus: Cash paid to employees and suppliers

   Minus: Taxes paid to governments

   Minus: Interest paid to lenders

   Cash flows from operations

2. Free cash flow: Cash flow from operations does not account for the capital investments an issuer makes to expand or improve operations. Thus, we calculate free cash flow to account for this.Cash flows from operationsMinus: Investments in long-term assets

   Free cash flow

Secondary Sources of Liquidity

Secondary sources of liquidity include:

• Renegotiating debt contracts to reduce high-interest payments or principal repayment burdens.
• Selling assets.
• Reducing or suspending shareholders’ dividends.
• Issuing equity through share issuance in private or public markets. The effect is that the existing shareholders’ equity will be diluted.
• Filing for bankruptcy protection and reorganization.

Using secondary sources of liquidity can impact a company’s financial and operating positions. In this respect, secondary liquidation sources are unlike primary sources of liquidity, which usually have no such impact. Using secondary sources of liquidity can also signal that a company’s financial health is worsening. Consequently, under such circumstances, liquidity is provided at a higher cost than usual.

Drags and Pulls on Liquidity

Drag on Liquidity

The timing of cash receipts and disbursements can significantly affect a company’s liquidity position. When receipts infrequently occur, especially after payments are made, a ‘drag on liquidity’ occurs due to the decreased availability of funds. Drags on liquidity include:

1. Uncollected receivables.
2. Obsolete inventory.
3. Borrowing constraints.

Pull on Liquidity

A ‘pull-on liquidity’ occurs when disbursements are paid too early. This is because companies will be forced to spend money before receiving funds from sales. Pulls on liquidity include:

• Early payments.
• Reduced credit limits.
• Limits on short-term lines of credit.
• Low liquidity positions.

Measuring and Evaluating Liquidity

A company’s liquidity determines its creditworthiness and capacity to borrow at cheaper rates and with better credit conditions, increasing its flexibility. The less liquid a company is, the more likely a corporation will go bankrupt.

The liquidity of a corporation may be evaluated using the following financial ratios:

Liquidity Ratios

Liquidity ratios assist in measuring the ability of a company to satisfy short-term obligations when they fall due. Comparing a company’s liquidity ratios with those of peer companies in the same industry can determine the relative creditworthiness of the company.

Common liquidity ratios include:

Current ratio

A company with a positive total working capital is likely to have a current ratio greater than one. A higher current ratio implies greater liquidity under this measure, including short-term assets.

$$ \text{Current ratio}=\frac{\text{Current assets}}{\text{Current liabilities}} $$

Quick ratio

The quick ratio removes the inventory since they are not easy to convert to cash. A firm that can meet its short-term cash obligations without liquidating inventory is likely to have a quick ratio greater than one.

$$
\text{Quick ratio}=\frac{\text{Cash}+\text{Short term marketable instruments}+\text{Receivables}}{\text{Current liabilities}} $$

Cash Ratio

The cash ratio compares short-term marketable securities and cash with current liabilities. A cash ratio greater than or equal to one indicates that a firm could meet all its short-term obligations without collecting receivables or waiting to sell inventory.

$$ \text{Cash ratio}=\frac{\text{Cash}+\text{Short term marketable instruments}}{\text{Current liabilities}} $$

Example: Calculating Liquidity Ratios

$$ \text{Consider the following balance sheet for Company ABC (in } \$ \text{ million):} $$

$$ \begin{array}{l|r}
\text{Cash} & 150 \\
\text{Short-term marketable securities} & 400 \\
\text{Accounts receivable} & 500 \\
\text{Inventory} & 900 \\
\text{Prepaid expenses} & 600 \\
\text{PPE} & 20,000 \\ \hline
\text{Total Assets} & 22,550 \\ \\
\text{Accounts payable:} & 600 \\
\text{Accrued expenses} & 80 \\
\text{Short-term debt} & 1,200 \\ \hline
\text{Total liabilities} & 1,880
\end{array} $$

Calculate the current ratio, quick ratio, and cash ratio.

Solution

$$ \text{Current ratio}=\frac{\text{Current assets}}{\text{Current liabilities}}=\frac{2,250}{1,880}=1.20 $$

$$ \begin{align*} \text{Quick ratio} & =\frac{\text{Cash}+\text{Short term marketable instruments}+\text{Receivables}}{\text{Current liabilities}} \\ & =\frac{150+400+500}{1,880}=0.56 \end{align*} $$

$$ \begin{align*}
\text{Cash ratio} & =\frac{\text{Cash}+\text{Short term marketable instruments}}{\text{Current liabilities}} \\ & =\frac{150+400}{1,880}=0.29
\end{align*} $$

Question

Which of the following are most likely primary sources of liquidity?

1. Negotiating debt contracts and liquidating assets.
2. Ready cash balances and short-term funds.
3. Filing for bankruptcy and cash flow management.

Solution

The correct answer is B.

Readily available cash balances and short-term funds are examples of primary sources of liquidity.

A is incorrect. Negotiating debt contracts and liquidating assets are examples of secondary sources of liquidity.

C is incorrect. Whereas cash flow management is a primary source of liquidity, filing bankruptcy is a secondary source of liquidity.