Gearing, Cover and Key Dates

Company REFS gives you considerable insight into the structure of a company's balance sheet.

In particular: the overall level of borrowings (gross gearing), how much is short and long-term, borrowings less cash (net gearing), short-term liquidity and the cash position (if any). The crucial impact of excluding intangible assets is shown in the second column.

Other useful statistics include the extent to which interest payments are covered by profits and dividends by earnings.

Key dates are particularly important for fast-growing smaller companies, which usually have their moment in the sun around the time of their preliminary and interim results.

The AGM date is also of vital importance to investors, as the chairman frequently uses the meeting to make a statement about future prospects.