During her first quarter review of the financial statements, Debra Bell, the CFO of HAL Computer Corporation

Problem 12-7 Foreign Currency Risk

During her first quarter review of the financial statements, Debra Bell, the CFO of HAL Computer Corporation, was distressed to notice the company’s transaction loss had been steadily increasing each month. HAL is a publicly held manufacturer of “PC clone” personal computers. Like most manufacturers of its kind, HAL does not manufacture domestically but utilizes lower cost offshore suppliers for components and subcontractors for assembly. As it is HAL’s policy to denominate foreign contracts in U.S. dollars whenever possible, the increase in transaction losses was particularly puzzling. Subsequent conversations with HAL’s controller, Tom Stewart, revealed all new contracts had been denominated in foreign currencies (primarily the South Korean won and Taiwanese dollar) in order to obtain more favorable purchase terms. Further, Mr. Stewart believed that the U.S. dollar would strengthen due to it being an election year. Since these contracts specify delivery and payment at various dates over the next 12 months, tremendous potential for exposure exists for the company if the dollar continues to decline against the major foreign currencies.

Required:
A. Mr. Stewart executed all new foreign contracts in foreign currencies in the belief it would help the company. (1) Do you think he was justified in his actions given the company policy? (2) On what basis did you decide if the controller was justified or not? (3) Was the loss a factor in your decision? Is this appropriate?
B. A substantial amount of foreign denominated contracts already exist for goods and services not yet received. (1) What actions may HAL take to minimize potential losses? (2) What are the advantages and disadvantages of these actions? (3) What implication does each of these scenarios have for financial statement disclosure?
C. Assume that you are Ms. Bell, and you are concerned about how the Board of Directors and the stockholders may react. Additionally, you are about to purchase a new home and are planning to sell some HAL stock for the down payment. (1) After carefully considering all of your options, what action do you decide to take? (2) Did concern over the Board, stockholders, or HAL’s stock price enter into your decision? Why or why not?

Click here for the solution: During her first quarter review of the financial statements, Debra Bell, the CFO of HAL Computer Corporation

(Real interest rates: financial analyst’s method) The CFO of your firm has asked you for an approximate answer to this question

(Real interest rates: financial analyst’s method) The CFO of your firm has asked you for an approximate answer to this question: What was the increase in real purchasing power associated with both 3-month Treasury bills and 30-year Treasury bonds? Assume that the current 3-month Treasury bill rate is 4.34 percent, the 30-year Treasury bond rate is 7.33 percent, and the inflation rate is 2.78 percent. Also, the chief financial officer wants a short explanation should the 3-month real rate turn out to be less than the 30-year real rate.

Click here for the solution: (Real interest rates: financial analyst’s method) The CFO of your firm has asked you for an approximate answer to this question

Final earnings estimates for Chilean Health Spa & Fitness Center have been prepared for the CFO of the company and are shown in the following table

(Dividend policies) Final earnings estimates for Chilean Health Spa & Fitness Center have been prepared for the CFO of the company and are shown in the following table. The firm has 7,500,000 shares of common stock outstanding. As assistant to the CFO, you are asked to determine the yearly dividend per share to be paid depending on the following possible policies:

YEAR PROFITS AFTER TAXES
1 $ 18,000,000
2 21,000,000
3 19,000,000
4 23,000,000
5 25,000,000

a. A stable dollar dividend targeted at 40 percent of earnings over a 5-year period
b. A small, regular dividend of $0.60 per share plus a year-end extra when the profits in any year exceed $20,000,000. The year-end extra dividend will equal 50 percent of profits exceeding $20,000,000.
c. A constant dividend payout ratio of 40 percent

Click here for the solution: Final earnings estimates for Chilean Health Spa & Fitness Center have been prepared for the CFO of the company and are shown in the following table