Finance analysis of Whitbread Financial Ratios Assignment

Finance analysis of Whitbread Financial Ratios - Assignment Example Ratio analysis is one of the methods used to carry out a company financial analysis to determine the performance of the company in question in relation to other companies in the industry in which such a company operates and also in relation to its own operations over time. The past performance of the company as shown by the ratio analysis as well as other methods that can be used in the company financial analysis can be used as an indicator of the company’s future performance in terms of the company’s liquidity, profitability, working capital management, asset management, efficiency of the company’s management, cash management as well as investor valuation ratios in order to help in planning and assessment of the company’s strategies as well as for use by investors to make a decision on whether to invest in the company or not.... evaluate the company’s performance against one of its competitors which is called Restaurants Group Plc and finally offer a recommendation on the company’s performance over the two year period between year 2010 and year 2011 and also in relation to the competitor Restaurants Group Plc. Description of the industry The United Kingdom Restaurant industry has been very vibrant over the last three years despite the recession that greatly affected the global markets within the period between year 2008 and year 2010 and the debt crisis in the Euro Zone in year 2011. Based on Oxford Writers, restaurants are a very vital part of the culture of the people of the United Kingdom (Oxford Writers 2012). The industry is comprised of hotel operators, restaurants, pubs and pub restaurants among other services that go hand in hand with the food business. The industry is mostly affected by the seasonal food business due to the fact that the agricultural produce in most of the agricultural areas in the United Kingdom is seasonal in nature. In addition to this, the guests in these restaurants are also seasonal. For instance more people eat out during summer that during winter therefore indicating that hotel business will boom in summer and decline in winter. On the other hand, holidays such as Christmas, Easter etc also increase the number of customers in restaurants therefore increasing profitability. As at 27th April 2012, Whitbread Plc was the largest company in the restaurants industry by market capitalization with a market capitalization of ?3.39 billion followed by Greene King Plc with a market capitalization of ?1.1 billion, followed by Mitchells & Butlers Plc with a market capitalization of ?1.08 billion, followed by Domino’s Pizza UK & Ireland Plc with a market

Sony strategic management and leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Sony strategic management and leadership - Essay Example According to Sony’s C.E.O, the company’s mission is to challenge the designers, producers and engineers in order to improve their software and hardware and eventually advance its differentiation process towards its competition (Badawy, 2009). Sony has renowned heritage of creativeness and innovativeness. Sony boasts of having products in the electronic, games, entertainment, and still participate in the provision of financial service sectors (Flugge, 2008). In this regard, this essay will delve on a critical analysis of Sony’s strategic management and leadership. More so, it will analyze Sony’s marketing advantage with supportive evidence. (1) - Sony corporation success Traditionally, Sony was known as a great innovator that managed to transform the entire categories of electronics with unique products like the PlayStation game console and Walkman music player. More so, Sony was in a position to command premium prices for its top-quality products (Gao, Men g, Steve, 2008). Therefore, Sony did not only the electronic industry but it also changed the world because Sony brought about smaller portable devices to the market, which is contrary to the old electronic devices that were bulky and inefficient. Sony has tremendously grown in market share and profitability (Ajami, 2006). Numerous evidence portrays this growth, for instance in the year 2006, Sony topped a Harris poll as the best brand which was the seventh time consecutively, while dell and coca- cola took the second and third positions. In 2004, Forbes ranked Sony as the 72nd largest company in the world. Recently, in January 2013, Sony scooped the So-net Entertainment Corporation award. According to Interbrand Top 100 Global Brand 2011, Sony emerged position thirty-six among other a hundred brands (Anonymous 2012). Prior to successful market share, Sony boasts of diverse and effective employees who in the year 2011 they were ranging at 168,200. On February 25, 2013, Sony sold a 6 .0% stake of a 55.8%-owned subsidiary (Minato-Ku, 2013). Factors that have contributed to Sony’s success Sony’s main contributor to its success is its unique variety of brands that match up the latest modern world. The company manufactures television screens and projector, cameras, home theatre systems, computer hardware, mobile phones, and car entertainment devices (Plunkett, 2008). Additionally, Sony manufactures home recording devices, storage media, and charging devices (Nargundkar, 2006). Ideally, Sony has further divided some of its products into other sub categories especially for the television products. This has made the company able to service its market through the innovation of tailor made products that suit their various clients. These customers include households, offices, and public gatherings. Hence, Sony’s success comes from due to the ability of the company to produce products that are able to meet the needs of their customers without financial constraints as their quality dictates the price (Ferrell & Hartline, 2011). Moreover, Sony also uses strategic marketing skills to the improvement in sales capacity. These marketing strategies include market mix, online marketing among many others. Ideally, Sony has managed to use its favorable public rapport to maintain significant relations with its employees, consumers and other relevant stakeholders (Shajahan, 2004). The use of its