What is Asset Turnover Ratio? Formula & Free Template

Companies with a lower asset turnover ratio may be relying too heavily on equity and debt to generate revenue, which can hurt their performance and long-term growth potential. This ratio is used as a financial indicator which tells the efficiency of a company in the management of its assets. It is used to know the level of the assets’ rotation to identify the shortcomings and then enact improvements to maximize the use of the company’s resources. The Asset Turnover Ratio is calculated by taking the net turnover amount and then dividing it by the total assets. A high value of the ratio means that the productivity of the assets in generating sales is also high and so is the profitability of the business.

The ratio can be calculated by dividing gross revenue by the average of total assets. Among the more important considerations for investors when evaluating a company is how efficiently it utilizes its assets to produce revenue. These companies have greater potential to grow and compound their earnings over time. Depreciation is the allocation of the cost of a fixed asset, which is spread out—or expensed—each year throughout the asset’s useful life. Typically, a higher fixed asset turnover ratio indicates that a company has more effectively utilized its investment in fixed assets to generate revenue. It’s important to note that comparisons of asset turnover ratios are only meaningful for evaluating companies in the same sector or industry.

Example of the Asset Turnover Ratio

When using this ratio to evaluate a business, it is best to use other entities within the same industry as a benchmark. The reason is that the other firms likely have similar asset requirements and capital structures. In other words, while the asset turnover ratio looks at all the company’s assets, the fixed asset ratio only looks at the fixed assets. A fixed asset is a resource that has been purchased by the company with the intent of long-term use, such as land, buildings and equipment.

Therefore, maintenance management within the company must concern itself with controlling costs, scheduling work appropriately and efficiently and confirming regulatory compliance. It is important to note that the asset turnover ratio will be higher in some sectors than in others. For example, retail organizations generally have smaller asset bases but high sale volumes, creating high asset turnover ratios.

Interpretation of the Asset Turnover Ratio

Remember to compare this figure with the industry average to see how efficient the organization really is in using its total assets. This shows that company X Asset Turnover Ratio Definition is more efficient in its use of assets to produce revenue. The lower ratio for Company Y may indicate sluggish sales or carrying too much obsolete inventory.

• The asset turnover ratio is calculated by dividing net sales by average total assets.
• This can be done by plotting the data points on a trend line, allowing any patterns or gradual increases and decreases to be observed.
• A thorough analysis considers the asset turnover ratio in conjunction with other measures, such as return on assets, for a clearer picture of a company’s performance.
• All of these categories should be closely managed to improve the asset turnover ratio.

The asset turnover ratio measures the value of a company’s sales or revenues relative to the value of its assets. The asset turnover ratio can be used as an indicator of the efficiency with which a company is using its assets to generate revenue. The asset turnover ratio is calculated by dividing net sales by average total assets. A business that has net sales of $10,000,000 and total assets of $5,000,000 has a total asset turnover ratio of 2.0. It is only appropriate to compare the asset turnover ratio of companies operating in the same industry. We can see that Company B operates more efficiently than Company A. This may indicate that Company A is experiencing poor sales or that its fixed assets are not being utilized to their full capacity.

Formula for Asset Turnover Ratio

Same with receivables – collections may take too long, and credit accounts may pile up. Fixed assets such as property, plant, and equipment (PP&E) could be unproductive instead of being used to their full capacity. Another company, Company B, has a gross revenue of $15 billion at the end of its fiscal year. The average total assets will be calculated at $3 https://kelleysbookkeeping.com/what-is-cost-of-debt/ billion, thus making the asset turnover ratio 5. This should result in a reduced amount of risk and an increased return on investment (ROI) for all stakeholders. By comparing companies in similar sectors or groups, investors and creditors can discover which companies are getting the most out of their assets and what weaknesses others might be experiencing.

Companies with low profit margins tend to have high asset turnover, while those with high profit margins have low asset turnover. Companies in the retail industry tend to have a very high turnover ratio due mainly to cutthroat and competitive pricing. Managers can concentrate on improving this ratio too much, resulting in inadequate levels of working capital.

How to improve the asset turnover ratio

As with the asset turnover ratio, the fixed asset turnover ratio measures operational efficiency, but it is less likely to fluctuate because the value of fixed assets tends to be more static. Companies with a high fixed asset ratio tend to be well-managed companies that are more effective at utilizing their investments in fixed assets to produce sales. The total asset turnover ratio compares the sales of a company to its asset base. The ratio measures the ability of an organization to efficiently produce sales, and is typically used by third parties to evaluate the operations of a business. Ideally, a company with a high total asset turnover ratio can operate with fewer assets than a less efficient competitor, and so requires less debt and equity to operate.