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Exelis (FRA:6EX) Free Cash Flow : €147 Mil (TTM As of Mar. 2015)


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What is Exelis Free Cash Flow?

Exelis's total free cash flow for the months ended in Mar. 2015 was €-23 Mil. Its total free cash flow for the trailing twelve months (TTM) ended in Mar. 2015 was €147 Mil.

Exelis's Free Cash Flow per Share for the months ended in Mar. 2015 was €-0.12. Its free cash flow per share for the trailing twelve months (TTM) ended in Mar. 2015 was €0.76.

Please click Growth Rate Calculation Example (GuruFocus) to see how GuruFocus calculates Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT)'s revenue growth rate. You can apply the same method to get the Free Cash Flow Growth Rate using Free Cash Flow per Share data.


Exelis Free Cash Flow Historical Data

The historical data trend for Exelis's Free Cash Flow can be seen below:

* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD.
* For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.

* Premium members only.

Exelis Free Cash Flow Chart

Exelis Annual Data
Trend Dec09 Dec10 Dec11 Dec12 Dec13 Dec14
Free Cash Flow
Get a 7-Day Free Trial 402.95 181.64 202.69 86.14 86.78

Exelis Quarterly Data
Jun10 Sep10 Dec10 Mar11 Jun11 Sep11 Dec11 Mar12 Jun12 Sep12 Dec12 Mar13 Jun13 Sep13 Dec13 Mar14 Jun14 Sep14 Dec14 Mar15
Free Cash Flow Get a 7-Day Free Trial Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only -83.15 87.58 23.28 59.20 -23.10

Exelis Free Cash Flow Calculation

Free Cash Flow is considered one of the most important parameters to measure a company's earnings power by value investors because it is not subject to estimates of Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization (DDA). However, when we look at the Free Cash Flow, we should look from a long term perspective, because any year's Free Cash Flow can be drastically affected by the spending on Property, Plant, & Equipment (PPE) of the business in that year. Over the long term, Free Cash Flow should give pretty good picture on the real earnings power of the company.

Exelis's Free Cash Flow for the fiscal year that ended in Dec. 2014 is calculated as

Free Cash Flow (A: Dec. 2014 )=Cash Flow from Operations+Capital Expenditure
=129.76+-42.983
=87

Exelis's Free Cash Flow for the quarter that ended in Mar. 2015 is calculated as

Free Cash Flow (Q: Mar. 2015 )=Cash Flow from Operations+Capital Expenditure
=-15.708+-7.392
=-23

Free Cash Flow for the trailing twelve months (TTM) ended in Mar. 2015 adds up the quarterly data reported by the company within the most recent 12 months, which was €147 Mil.

* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD.
* For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.


Exelis  (FRA:6EX) Free Cash Flow Explanation

Free Cash Flow is very close to Warren Buffett's definition of Owner's Earnings, except that in Warren Buffett's Owner's Earnings, the spending for Property, Plant, and Equipment is only for maintenance (replacement), while in the Free Cash Flow calculation, the cost of new Property, Plant, and Equipment due to business expansion is also deducted. There, Free Cash Flow is more conservative than Owner's Earnings.

In Don Yacktman's calculation of forward rate of return, he uses Free Cash Flow for the calculation. Yacktman explained the forward rate of return concept in detail in his interview with GuruFocus. Yacktman defines forward rate of return as the normalized free cash flow yield plus real growth plus inflation.

This is what Yacktman said in his March 2012 interview - when the S&P 500 was at 1400:

If the business is stable, this calculation is fairly straightforward. For instance, on the S&P 500 we would normalize earnings. We would then calculate what percentage of those earnings are not reinvested in the underlying businesses and are therefore free. Historically, for the S&P 500, this has been just under 50% of earnings. Currently, we expect the S&P to earn about 70 on a normalized basis, a number which is far below reported earnings due to our adjusting for record high profit margins. $70 X ½ / 1400 gives you a normalized free cash flow yield of approximately 2.5%.

The historical real growth rate of the S&P 500 (companies) is about 1.5%. Assuming an inflation rate of 2.5%, the forward rate of return on an investment in the S&P 500 is about 6.5% today (2.5% free cash flow yield plus 1.5% real growth plus 2.5% inflation).

For the growth part of the Forward Rate of Return calculation, GuruFocus uses the 5-year average growth rate of EBITDA per share as the growth rate, and the growth rate is always capped at 20%. For the Free Cash Flow we use per share data averaged over seven years. The reason we use seven years is because research shows that seven years is the length of the typical business cycle.

Therefore, as of Mar15, Exelis's Forward Rate of Return (Yacktman) % is

Forward Rate of Return (Yacktman) % (Mar15)=Normalized Free Cash Flow/Price+5-Year EBITDA Growth Rate
=0/0+0
=0 %

* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD.
* For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.


Be Aware

Free Cash Flow within a report period can be affected by management's decisions of capital spending. Therefore, it is important to look at long term when it comes to Free Cash Flow.


Exelis Free Cash Flow Related Terms

Thank you for viewing the detailed overview of Exelis's Free Cash Flow provided by GuruFocus.com. Please click on the following links to see related term pages.


Exelis (FRA:6EX) Business Description

Traded in Other Exchanges
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Address
Exelis Inc was incorporated in the state of Indiana on May 4, 2011. The Company is a diversified aerospace, defense, information and services Company. The Company operates in two segments: Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) Electronics and Systems and Information and Technical Services to military, government and commercial customers in the United States and internationally. The C4ISR Electronics and Systems segment provides engineered systems and solutions, including: ISR systems; integrated electronic warfare systems; radar and sonar systems; electronic attack and release systems; communications solutions; space systems; and composite aerostructures, for government and commercial customers. The Information and Technical Services segment provides a broad range of service solutions, including: systems integration; network design and development; air traffic management; cyber; intelligence; operations; sustainment; advanced engineering; logistics; and space launch and range-support, for U.S. military and U.S. Government customers. The C4ISR Electronics and Systems' products are classified into Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Systems, Integrated Electronic Warfare Systems, Electronic Attack and Release Systems, Radar, Reconnaissance and Undersea Systems, Communications Solutions, Night Vision, Positioning, Navigation and Timing, Aerostructures, and Specialty Applications. Information and Technical Services product lines are classified into Advanced Information Solutions, Civil and Aerospace Systems, Command, Control and Communications Systems, Infrastructure Asset Management, Logistics and Supply Chain Management, and Information Technology and Network Communication Services. The Company's customers include the United States Department of Defense, including U.S. Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force, U.S. Government intelligence agencies, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Federal Aviation Administration. The Company competes against companies such as Lockheed Martin Corporation, The Boeing Company, Raytheon Company, General Dynamics Corporation, L-3 Communications Corporation, SAIC Inc., Northrop Grumman Corporation, Harris Corporation and BAE Systems, Inc. Internationally, it also competes against these same companies as well as Thales Group, EADS N.V., Finmeccanica S.p.A., among others The Company is subject to federal, state and local environmental laws and regulations.

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