Page 1 GROUP WORK PROJECT LAST DATE FOR SUBMISSION: MaY 14, 2023 Guidelines to answering the Group Project: - This is a group project, and the size of each group should be between 4-6 people. - The group must distribute work amongst its members in a fair and equitable manner; however, it must be stressed that each member must participate and contribute to all questions. - This assignment will be graded out of 100%; distribution will be according to the following criteria: Kindy Ioulow the rubric ror the detaued distribution or marks. In this case assignment, your work is expected to show critical, analytical and justification skills of the subject, rather than being purely descriptive. You are expected to present a well-structured and organized piece of work that demonstrates your knowledge and understanding of the analytical concepts and tools to assess the credit worthiness of this particular company. In addition, you should be able to recognize how the strategic choices made by organizations are influenced by the available or forecasted financial data. Plagiarism will not be tolerated, and plagiarized work will receive 0 marks. - Definitions of cheating and plagiarism: "Copying of printed material and submitting them as part of your answers without proper academic acknowledgement and documentation. The maximum similarity index allowed is 20% - Copying of material from the Internet, including tables and graphics. - Copying other students' notes or reports. - Using paid or unpaid material prepared for the student by individuals or firms. Answer the following questions: 1. Assess past financial performance using the statement of cash flows and ratio analysis. 2. Determine the loan amount needed and decide on the type and term of the loan. 3. Analyze the risk associated with the loan using the Five Cs of Credit. 4. Evaluate several options (deny the loan, grant the request, defer the request) available to the lender to determine which option is the best for this decision. 5. As MacDougall, decide whether to lend funds and provide supporting rationale for this decision. Page 2 FINANCIAL ANALYSIS AND CREDIT EVALUATION-FIN331, BANK 331 DRUTHERS FORMING LIMITED On July 30, 2007, Brad MacDougall, account manager at the Canadian Commercial Bank (CCB) in Barron, Ontario, reviewed his latest loan request. Garrett Sheppard, co-founder of Druthers Forming Limited (Druthers) and a long-time CCB customer, was requesting a $350,000 loan to construct a new building to house Druthers' existing operations. Construction was already well underway, with a completion date set for September 30, 2007. MacDougall noted that Druthers was currently operating without a line of credit, and he wondered whether the business could generate enough cash to cover all expenses, including the new loan payments, if approved. With his desk covered in financial and company data, MacDougall knew he must give Sheppard an answer by early next week if construction was to continue on schedule. COMPANY BACKGROUND Druthers Forming Limited was founded in 1987 by two brothers, Garrett and Norm Sheppard, and one other investor. When a third brother, Jack, joined in 1995 and replaced the other investor, Druthers became the Sheppards' second entirely-owned-and-operated firm. The other family business was Jack Sheppard Homes Ltd. (Sheppard Homes), a construction company that had been in business since 1964. Druthers, originally established to serve the needs of Sheppard Homes, specialized in the construction of poured concrete foundations for residential buildings, which was the first stage in building a home. In the late 1980s, Jack Sheppard observed that demand for foundations far outstripped supply in the region, and long waits for foundation construction had become standard. Furthermore, one of the three firms that had been serving the existing market was winding down its operations and getting out of the foundation business. In an attempt to circumvent these obstacles, which were causing numerous lengthy delays in the Page 3 FINANCIAL ANALYSIS AND CREDIT EVALUATION-FIN331, BANK 331 Garrett Sheppard joined Sheppard Homes in 1982, immediately after graduating with an honors business administration degree from the Richard Ivey School of Business at The University of Western Ontario. As well as helping to operate both companies, Garrett was active in the community and had served as president of the local Homebuilders' Association for several years. Norm Sheppard had supplied the architectural expertise for both companies since 1987. Most buyers appreciated the opportunity to sit down with Norm to design their own homes, a service that was not always available from other companies in the Barron area. A cousin of the Sheppards, Eric, was also involved with the family businesses as a finish carpenter for Sheppard Homes, although he was not a Druthers co-owner. The Sheppards' youngest brother, Jack, completed the Druthers' management team. After joining the family businesses in the early 1990s, Jack accepted the role of site manager for both firms. The skill sets of the brothers were extremely complementary, and both companies were highly regarded in the local construction industry. INDUSTRY AND ECONOMY Druthers' sales were influenced by three main factors: the economy, which drove housing starts; the competition; and, often most significantly, other builders' reluctance to use Druthers' services because of its affiliation with Sheppard Homes - a competing building firm within the home construction industry. Housing starts were cyclical and fluctuated directly with the economy. Some firms were experiencing a downturn, which they believed was a result of recent forecasts of a looming economic slowdown in the Ontario housing market. However, Druthers was somewhat insulated from such economic swings because it served both the single home and multi-residential markets. Nevertheless, the effects of increasing competition in the market were becoming apparent from the financial statements. Most suppliers offered Druthers 30-to-60-day credit terms, and Druthers did the same for construction companies that they supplied with foundations. Relationships and a firm's reputation were important factors in the construction industry. Most builders were very loyal and used the same foundation company repeatedly. They looked for a competitive price, reliable prompt service and a quality product. Over the years, Druthers had built a solid reputation and had developed a loyal customer base. Despite the reputable business the brothers had built, Druthers often had difficulty attracting new customers because other builders were reluctant to use the services of a company that was affiliated with a competing building firm. Growth into the commercial construction segment was also not feasible because most commercial builders used concrete block foundations, which were slightly cheaper than the poured concrete foundations supplied by Druthers. Contrary to popular belief, Druthers' business was not overly seasonal since work continued throughout the winter whenever there was demand. Druthers controlled its labour costs during slack periods by laying off workers - a common industry practice. FINANCIAL PROJECTIONS MacDougall turned his attention towards the information Garrett Sheppard had provided regarding the company's future operations. The majority of the 5,500-square-foot building had already been rented out by Druthers to the Barron Best Club (approximately 4,000 square feet). Druthers and Sheppard Homes would share the remainder of the space upon completion of the building's construction. The property allowed for the building of additional room if needed in the future. Once moved into the building, Druthers would save $20,000 annually that it was currently paying for rented premises. Annual rental income earned on the new property would total $60,000. Sheppard estimated that Druthers would pay a total of $18,000 in property taxes for fiscal 2008 and $18,500 for fiscal 2009, and additional maintenance expenses of $7,000 annually would be incurred for upkeep of the new building. If a new loan were approved, annual principal payments would be $30,000 for each of fiscal 2008 and fiscal 2009 , and annual interest expense on the new loan would be approximately $20,300 for the first two years until the principle owing was lowered. Upon completion, set for September 30, 2007, the building, valued at $350,000, would be depreciated on a straight-line basis over 20 years. In addition to Page 4 FINANCIAL ANALYSIS AND CREDIT EVALUATION-FIN331, BANK 331 these new loan payments, the total current portion on the existing long-term debt for fiscal 2008 would be $21,276 and $14,728 for fiscal 2009 . Although market information was limited, Garrett Sheppard believed that Druthers held about 35 per cent of the concrete foundation construction market in Barron and the surrounding area. Despite the prevailing economic and business conditions, he felt Druthers' sales would increase 10 per cent in fiscal 2008 and 15 per cent in fiscal 2009. Some of this increase resulted from a downward trend in the price of concrete purchased from ready-mix companies, a cost savings that had not yet been passed on to customers. Therefore, Druthers' cost of goods sold was projected to decrease slightly to 47.5 per cent of sales as the company rebounded during the next few years. Sheppard also explained that about 85 per cent of Druthers' accounts receivable were due from Sheppard Homes; therefore, the age of receivables could be reduced quickly by transferring money "from one pocket to the other" if liquidity became a problem. For this reason, Sheppard was not concerned about the firm's lengthening days of accounts receivable. Additionally, he predicted that for the next two years, jobsite expenses would remain at the same dollar amount as that of 2007. Income taxes would be approximately 20 per cent. Other items on the statement of earnings would remain roughly the same percentage of sales as was experienced in 2007. THE DECISION Although Garrett Sheppard anticipated growth in Druthers' future, the company had shown some disappointing results in the past two years, and MacDougall was concerned about extending financing at such a low point in the business's operations. Construction plans were already underway, however, and MacDougall knew that the brothers were relying on the CCB to finance the building as of September 30 . 2007. Furthermore, without a short-term source of financing, MacDougall wondered whether Druthers could generate sufficient cash to cover its debt payments over the next few years. Before he could respond to Sheppard's request, MacDougall had to answer several questions in a very short period of time. Exhibit 2 STATEMENTS OF RETAINED EARNINGS (UNAUDITED) (for years ending June 30 ) 2 Bank of Ontario loan secured by equipment, furniture \& fixtures and forms \& fittings. 150 days was used because 85 per cent of yearly purchases were made from May to September. Rubric for Final Project FIN 331, BANK 331 Maximum Marks:20