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African Americans And African American Diaspora Studies

A question that is commonly returned to in African American diaspora studies is how much should African roots be considered in the study of African American culture, and how much influence should African heritage have on black individuals. For Columbia professor Saidiya Hartman, this question could only be answered by returning to the motherland. Through her journey to Ghana, Hartman is able to redefine her identity as an African American woman and better understand her relationship to the country her ancestors were torn from. Hartman went on this journey in order to find her own connection to her African heritage. As a graduate student doing research on slavery, she stumbled upon a reference to her great-great grandmother. Hartman was only served disappointment as she read further. When her kin was asked what she remembered about being a slave, her answer was simple: â€Å"Not a thing.† As she reaches out to family to learn more about their history with slavery, she is thwart ed and discouraged at every attempt. This is what leads Hartman to â€Å"fill in the blank spaces of the historical record and to represent the lives of those deemed unworthy of remembering† (16). As she says it, Hartman goes to Ghana â€Å"in search of strangers† (6). While she is not searching for a home in Ghana, she is searching for a sense of solidarity and shared stories. 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AGL and Genesis Energy Limited

Question: Discuss about the AGL and Genesis Energy Limited. Answer: Introduction Since the inception of M/s AGL Energy Limited ( MAIN COMPANY), it has been one of Australias largest players in energy companies. It has been incorporated in 1837 and from that day itself the company has been developing new and innovative technologies which have helped the customers not only in Australia but across the Globe. The major invention has first started in 1841 with the introduction of stoves majorly for the benefit of house wives. In recent year the company has served their customers with storage device for battery which in the opinion of the company will help in reducing the usage of electricity. (Cited in Official Website) Another Company being the competitor - M/s Genesis Energy Limited (COMPETITOR COMPANY) has been incorporated in 1999. The company though incorporated in the recent years has come up with new inventions in the field of energy which had helped the company to have goodwill in the market and in the current scenario it has emerged as one of the biggest competitor to M/s AGL Energy Limited. Due to this the companys customer base has been increased across New Zealand. The company operates and functions in the manner similar to the former company. (Cited in Official Website) The aforesaid companies have been selected for making comparison and identifying which company is better from the perspective of various investors. Analysis of Financial Statements With Financial Ratios Statement showing Profit and Loss for the year 2014 2015 Though Revenue of the company has been increase in absolute terms but it has been considerably decreased in relative terms from the year ending 2014 to 2015 by approximately 5.02%. Though revenue has been increased from 2014 to 2015 but the Net Profit margin has been considerably decreased from 2014 to 2015. The decrease has been counted because of increase in Indirect Expenses including Interest cost on finance taken by the company from Financial Institutions and related administration and Selling Overheads. EPS has been suffering considerable decrease in trend over the past 5 years from 113.9 in 2011 to 33.3 in 2015. Statement showing Asset Liability Trade receivable has been decreased from the year 2014 amounting to 1902 m$ to 1894 m$ in 2015. It shows decrease in net working capital and ensures good debtor collection procedure of the company. Inventories has been considerably increased by 205 m$ in 2015 from 2014 resulting in blocking of funds of the company. Due to which the company has to borrow more funds from Financial Institutions resulting in increase Finance Costs of the Company. It has also affected Liquidity position of the company as Cash Cash Equivalents has been decreased drastically to 296 m$ in 2015 from 493 m$ in 2014. Statement showing Cash Inflows and Cash Outflows Cash Flows from Investing Activities have been decreased to 2175 m$. It lays down the fact that the company Investment decisions are not up to the mark. The major payment has been made in acquiring the businesses. But no synergies have been created through such acquisitions. (Alvarez and Fridson, 2005) Cash Flows from Operating Financing Activities are positive which show that company is efficient in operations and taking financing decisions. Statement showing Equity Equity means share Capital which is issued and paid up, General Reserves and Other Reserves which are free for distributions as dividend and the balance of Profit and Loss Account which has been ploughed back into the business. (FGL,2013) The Equity of the Company in the year 2015 is 8815 m$ in relation to 2014 which is 7588 m$. Competitor Company: Statement showing Profit and Loss for the year 2014 2015 Though Revenue of the company has been increased by 92 m$ from 2014 to 2015, the Net Profit Margin has been increased by 55.60 m $ from 2014 to 2015.It shows that the company is working efficiently and effectively and have reduced burden of Indirect Expenses and have thereby increased the margins. Indirect Expenses includes Employee Costs and other Operating Expenses. (Alvarez and Fridson, 2005) Statement showing Asset Liability The Company has an efficient Inventory Management system as the Inventory levels have been considerably decreased by 20% from 2014 to 2015. Though it shows the good company policy but in fact it can be major setback for the company. Its because every company shall have minimum Inventory Level. Contrary to the above point the Companys Cash balance has been decreased from 2014 to 2015 and the corresponding borrowings have been increased. Investment in Current and Non Current derivatives has been remarkably increased by 500% approximately from 2014 to 2015. It restricts the Going Concern assumption of the Company as derivatives are neither tangible assets nor intangible but are always regarded as vulnerable in nature. Statement showing Cash Inflows and Cash Outflows Cash flows from the financing activities has been decreased from 220.40 m$ in 2014 to 272.20 m$ in 2015. The decrease is mainly due to the repayment of borrowing that has been taken earlier by the company and the payment of higher dividends to their shareholders. Cash flows from operating and investment activities has been increased over the year but at the end there has been net decrease of 2.3m$ in the year 2015. Statement showing Equity Equity means share Capital which is issued and paid up, General Reserves and Other Reserves which are free for distributions as dividend and the balance of Profit and Loss Account which has been ploughed back into the business. The Equity of the Company in the year 2015 is 1825.40 m$ in relation to 2014 which is 1880.70 m$. The decrease has been suffered mainly because of high change in Cash Flow hedge reserve. Variations In Ratios And Their Causes Profitability Ratio includes Net Profit Margin ratio and Return on Shareholder Funds. The Net Profit Margin ratio is an alarming situation for company as the Net Profit margin has been decreased by 100% from 2014 to 2015. (FGL,2013) Liquidity Ratio includes Current ratio and Liquidity ratio. Although the ratios has been decreased from the year 2014 to the year 2015, but the value of the ratios are as per the industry standards. The change is mainly because of increase in Current Liabilities and Provisions. (FGL,2013) Capital Structure includes composition of the capital of the company including equity share capital, loans and borrowing from financial institution and others. Capital Structure Ratio calculates the adequacy of the composition of capital. As per the ratios so calculated for the company, the capital structure of the company is adequate (Alvarez and Fridson, 2005). In judging market performance of the company, earning per share play important role. The companys EPS has been declined from 0.98 in 2014 to 0.33 in 2015. (Alvarez and Fridson, 2005) Competitor Company As the Net Profit margin of the company has been increased considerably, the ratios including Net Profit margin and Return on Shareholders Equity has been increased. Current and Liquid Asset ratio of the company is not better and up to mark as per industry norms. Capital structure of the Company has become better in terms of Debt equity Ratio. Indicator of Market Performance has been increased including Earning per Share. Comparison of Two Companies M/s Genesis Energy Limited has earned higher Net Profit Margins due to which the Return on Shareholders Equity has been increased. Whereas in case of M/s AGL Energy Limited Net Profit Margin has been decreased and thus, thereby decreasing the Return on Shareholders Equity. Main Company has better Liquidity position in terms Current Ratios and Liquid Asset Ratio as and when compared with the Competitor. This is majorly due to increase in Inventory Level of the Main Company. Though Capital Structure of both the Companies are adequate but Main Company enjoy privilege over the competitor company. Competitor Company has higher Net Profit Margins and therefore have better EPS than the Main Company. (Cited in Zions Official Website, 2005) Conclusion M/s AGL Energy Limited (MAIN COMPANY) and M/s Genesis Energy Limited (COMPETITOR COMPANY) operates in the same Industry. Both companies have strong customer base but the Main Company is operating across the Globe while the Competitor Company is operating in New Zealand only. They both have adequate Capital structure but the Competitor Company have higher Net Profit Margins. Due to this, the Competitor Company has been emerged as Main Competitor for Main Company. In the way to conclude with the above analysis, the pace of the performance as well as the growth of the Competitor Company is much better than the Main Company. Recommendation An Investor should perform an exclusive study which shall include not only the Study of Financial perspective which includes Financial Ratios but also Study the Historical development and Growth perspective of the Company over the past years since the date of its incorporation. In view of the analysis made through this report, the Competitor Company is performing well and better than the Main Company. On the other hand, if the past developments and achievements of both companies are under taken then the Main Company will be the better one. Therefore, and investor should take into consideration all the perspective before entering into any decision of an investment. As per the report, our recommendation to the Investor is to Invest in Competitor Company M/s Genesis Energy Limited in order to have higher earnings. References Main Company (AGL Energy Limited) Official Website available on https://www.agl.com.au/about-agl accessed on 26-08-2016. Competitor company (Genesis Energy Limited) official website available on https://www.genesisenergy.co.nz/home accessed on 26-08-2016. FGL,(2013),Accounting Ratios available on https://frostgroup.co.uk/articles/2013/accounting-ratios accessed on 27/08/2016. Zions Bank Official Website,(2005) How to Analyse your business using Financial Ratios, available on https://www .zionsbank.com /pdfs/ biz_ resources_book-6.pdf Accessed on 28/08/2016. Alvarez F and Fridson M, (2005), Financial Statement Analysis A Practitioners Guide, available on https://www.up.m-e-c.biz/up/Mohcine/Pictures%20BOOK/Wiley%20Finance,.Financial%20Statement%20Analysis%20-%20A%20Practitioner's%20Guide,%203rd%20Edition.pdf accessed on 27/08/2016.