First, the meaning of enterprise capital structure and capital structure decision
Debt and equity are two important aspects of enterprise capital. Because short-term funds and their raising methods are dynamic and vary greatly, and their proportion in the whole capital structure is relatively low, enterprises basically manage them as working capital effectively. Therefore, the overall capital structure of an enterprise refers to its equity capital and long-term debt. The tax deduction income of enterprises is obtained through debt financing. But the risk of enterprise capital also increases with the increase of debt, which makes shareholders have to bear the corresponding risks. It can be seen that in order to maximize the value, enterprises must fully weigh the proportion of risk and income in capital structure decision. Enterprise capital structure decision
Second, the main problems existing in the process of determining the capital structure of enterprises in China
At present, Chinese enterprises have not formed the consciousness of optimizing capital structure in the process of capital financing decision-making. High debt ratio and equity financing are still the main problems affecting the optimization of enterprise capital structure.
(A) the debt ratio of the capital structure is high, and the financial operation risk of enterprises is increased.
Because the creditors of state-owned enterprises in China are state-owned banks and the debtors are mainly state-owned capital, the use of debt financing has not played a substantial role in restraining the operation of state-owned enterprises, thus causing the situation of increasing debts of state-owned enterprises in China. China enterprises generally adopt the financing method of high debt ratio. At present, there is no perfect bankruptcy mechanism and complete delisting mechanism in China financial market. Therefore, enterprises have a vague understanding of modern financial management. They can only use the mode of debt management, but can't use financial leverage correctly and reasonably, so that enterprises can't profit from their funds. High debt level can only make enterprises lack funds more and more, which is not conducive to the sustainable development of enterprises and makes enterprises fall into a vicious circle of debt.
(B) Preference for equity financing, financial leverage interests are invalid
Although China's securities market has been relatively perfect in terms of scale, structure and efficiency, low-cost equity financing and weakened non-repayment characteristics are still the main problems affecting the development of the securities market. Because financial institutions do not effectively restrain and supervise the operation of enterprises, most enterprises still adopt the way of equity financing, and realize refinancing through allotment and issuance of new shares. Basically, they are not interested in debt financing, which makes the equity capital of enterprises increase and the asset-liability ratio of enterprises correspondingly lower. As a result, the investment efficiency of enterprises is low, the equity funds are idle, the overall performance is insufficient, the shareholders' income is reduced, and the financial leverage cannot be effectively exerted.
Third, the principle of financial leverage
The earnings before interest and tax changes of fixed debts of enterprises lead to a greater change effect of earnings per share of common stocks, which is the financial leverage effect of enterprises in debt financing. Because the profit per share of an enterprise rises and falls due to debt management, financial leverage can be divided into positive financial leverage and negative financial leverage. Leverage coefficient is the ratio between the change rate of earnings per share and the change rate of earnings before interest and tax. It is an index to measure the financial leverage effect. The smaller the coefficient, the lower the financial leverage effect and financial risk.
Fourthly, the optimization strategy of enterprise capital structure based on the principle of financial leverage.
By operating various capital ratios, debt capital and equity capital can form a reasonable ratio and effectively optimize the capital structure. Enterprises can optimize their capital structure by comprehensively weighing debt and equity.
(A) the optimization of the capital structure of enterprises with high debt ratio
Enterprises with high debt ratio and poor operating performance can effectively optimize their capital structure through debt-to-equity swap, equity financing and asset restructuring.
1, debt-to-equity swap is a unique way to optimize the capital structure, which is suitable for large state-owned enterprises that have suffered huge losses due to insolvency. It optimizes the capital structure by transforming the bad credit assets of commercial banks into the equity of financial asset management companies. The operation mode of debt-to-equity swap can effectively alleviate the financial management crisis of enterprises, reduce the debt burden of enterprises, reduce business risks and effectively improve profitability.
2. The optimization strategy of equity financing is to optimize the overall capital of enterprises and effectively reduce the debt ratio of enterprises. Equity financing is mainly achieved by stripping off non-performing assets, reducing staffing, improving the production efficiency of enterprises, improving the market competitiveness of core products of enterprises and actively promoting the shareholding system reform.
(B) optimize the capital structure of high-equity capital enterprises
Bond financing, bank loans and share repurchase are the main ways to optimize the capital structure of high-equity capital enterprises. The best way of bond financing is to issue bonds to stipulate the repayment period, and the enterprises that have expired bonds should return the principal and interest to the creditors. This way can restrain the business behavior of enterprises, increase financing channels and improve the development level and management status of enterprises. The optimization method of bank loan is suitable for enterprises with low debt ratio. Enterprises obtain bank loans through credit rating and repayment ability, and maximize the use of financial leverage to realize shareholders' rights and interests. The optimization method of share repurchase is to buy back the issued shares openly and by agreement, so as to reduce the number of shares issued by enterprises.
In short, financial leverage can effectively bring leverage benefits to enterprises and correspondingly increase their financial risks. In order to optimize the capital structure of enterprises more effectively, we should grasp the relationship between leverage income and financial risk and increase the sustainability of enterprise development.