Financial Analysis for Next Plc and Marks & Spencer

Section A (2,000 words)

You are required to evaluate the financial statement of a Marks and Spencer Conduct you research on the basis of annual reports which is published on company;s website. Also, highlight the financial soundness of the your chosen company since last four accounting year. You must compare the performance of the company with its competitors.

Required

• Overview of the company, its nature and financial position over the last four accounting years.
• Evaluate the liquidity, activity, debt, profitability and market ratios.
• Produce a trend analysis which highlight the financial performance of the business over last four financial years.
• Identify overall conclusions and recommend the steps which must follow for increasing the financial performance in the future.  

Structure format

• Executive Summary
• Contents page
• Introduction
• Main body (with section headings)
• Conclusion & Recommendations
• Reference List
• Appendices

Section B

Answer any one of the below questions.

Problem 1

What is the NPV for a project if its cost of capital is 12 percent and its initial after-tax cost is $5,000,000 and it is expected to provide after-tax operating cash flows of $1,800,000 in year 1, $1,900,000 in year 2, $1,700,000 in year 3, and ($1,300,000) in year 4?

Problem 2

Calculate the future value of $4,600 received today if it is deposited at 9 percent for three years.

FV_n = future value at the end of period n

PV = initial principal, or present value

r = annual rate of interest paid. (Note: On financial calculators, I is typically used to represent this rate.)

n = number of periods (typically years) that the money is left on deposit