African Copper (LSE:ACU) Debt-to-Equity: -0.20 (As of Sep. 2014)

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What is African Copper Debt-to-Equity?

African Copper LSE:ACU +10.00% Debt-to-Equity is -0.20 as of Sep. 2014. The stock has 4 warning signs investors should review.

African Copper's Short-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation for the quarter that ended in Sep. 2014 was £1.90 Mil. African Copper's Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation for the quarter that ended in Sep. 2014 was £5.53 Mil. African Copper's Total Stockholders Equity for the quarter that ended in Sep. 2014 was £-36.84 Mil. African Copper's debt to equity for the quarter that ended in Sep. 2014 was -0.20.

A high debt to equity ratio generally means that a company has been aggressive in financing its growth with debt. This can result in volatile earnings as a result of the additional interest expense.

The historical rank and industry rank for African Copper's Debt-to-Equity or its related term are showing as below:

LSE:ACU's Debt-to-Equity is not ranked *
in the Metals & Mining industry.
Industry Median: 0.14
* Ranked among companies with meaningful Debt-to-Equity only.

African Copper  (LSE:ACU) Debt-to-Equity Explanation

In the calculation of Debt to Equity, we use the total of Short-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation and Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation divided by Total Stockholders Equity. In some calculations, Total Liabilities is used to for calculation.

Be Aware

Because a company can increase its ROE % by having more financial leverage, it is important to watch the leverage ratio when investing in high ROE % companies.

African Copper Debt-to-Equity Related Terms

African Copper Debt-to-Equity Historical Data

* Premium members only.

The historical data trend for African Copper's Debt-to-Equity 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.

African Copper Debt-to-Equity Chart

African Copper Annual Data
Trend Dec04 Dec05 Dec06 Dec07 Dec08 Dec09 Mar11 Mar12 Mar13 Mar14
Debt-to-Equity
Get a 7-Day Free Trial Premium Member Only Premium Member Only 0.00 0.00 -0.36 -0.06 -0.07

African Copper Semi-Annual Data
Jun05 Dec05 Jun06 Dec06 Jun07 Dec07 Jun08 Dec08 Jun09 Dec09 Sep10 Mar11 Sep11 Mar12 Sep12 Mar13 Sep13 Mar14 Sep14
Debt-to-Equity 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 -0.18 -0.06 -0.07 -0.07 -0.20

African Copper Debt-to-Equity Competitor Comparison

For the Copper subindustry, African Copper's Debt-to-Equity, along with its competitors' market caps and Debt-to-Equity data, can be viewed below:

* Competitive companies are chosen from companies within the same industry, with headquarter located in same country, with closest market capitalization; x-axis shows the market cap, and y-axis shows the term value; the bigger the dot, the larger the market cap. Note that "N/A" values will not show up in the chart.

African Copper Debt-to-Equity vs Metals & Mining Industry

For the Metals & Mining industry and Basic Materials sector, African Copper's Debt-to-Equity distribution charts can be found below:

* The bar in red indicates where African Copper's Debt-to-Equity falls into.


African Copper Debt-to-Equity Calculation

Debt to Equity measures the financial leverage a company has.

African Copper's Debt to Equity Ratio for the fiscal year that ended in Mar. 2014 is calculated as

Debt to Equity=Total Debt / Total Stockholders Equity
=(Short-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation + Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation) / Total Stockholders Equity
=(1.354 + 0.949) / -32.884
=-0.07

African Copper's Debt to Equity Ratio for the quarter that ended in Sep. 2014 is calculated as

Debt to Equity=Total Debt / Total Stockholders Equity
=(Short-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation + Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation) / Total Stockholders Equity
=(1.904 + 5.533) / -36.844
=-0.20

* 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.

Frequently Asked Questions Learn more about Debt-to-Equity →
What does a Debt-to-Equity of -0.20 mean?
African Copper (LSE:ACU) has a Debt-to-Equity of -0.20 as of Sep. 2014. Debt-to-Equity ratio represents the ratio of total debt to total company equity. View historical data on African Copper and its competitors.
Is African Copper's Debt-to-Equity too high?
African Copper's current Debt-to-Equity is -0.20.
How does African Copper's Debt-to-Equity compare to competitors?
African Copper's Debt-to-Equity of -0.20 can be compared against companies in the Metals & Mining industry. The industry median Debt-to-Equity is 0.14. See the competitive comparison table and distribution chart on this page for a detailed peer-by-peer breakdown.
What is a good Debt-to-Equity for a Metals & Mining company?
The median Debt-to-Equity among Metals & Mining companies is 0.14, based on 1,225 companies in the industry. Companies in the top quartile (top 25%) have a Debt-to-Equity significantly above this median, while those in the bottom quartile fall well below. However, Debt-to-Equity should not be evaluated in isolation — investors should consider it alongside profitability, growth, and financial strength metrics. Use the industry distribution chart on this page to see where any company falls relative to its peers.
What does a high Debt-to-Equity mean?
A high Debt-to-Equity can signal that a stock is expensive relative to its fundamentals. Debt-to-Equity ratio represents the ratio of total debt to total company equity. View historical data on African Copper and its competitors. For the Metals & Mining industry, the median Debt-to-Equity is 0.14 — values significantly above this may indicate overvaluation, while values below may suggest a bargain or underlying issues. African Copper's current Debt-to-Equity is -0.20. However, context matters — high-growth companies often justify higher valuations. Always evaluate alongside other metrics like GF Score™ and GF Value™.
Is African Copper stock overvalued right now?
African Copper (LSE:ACU) has a current Debt-to-Equity of -0.20. The current Debt-to-Equity is -0.20. Investors should evaluate multiple metrics — including profitability, growth, and financial strength — before making a decision.
How is Debt-to-Equity calculated?
Debt-to-Equity is calculated from a company's financial statements. For African Copper (LSE:ACU), the current Debt-to-Equity is -0.20 as of Sep. 2014. GuruFocus calculates this using data sourced from SEC filings and annual reports. See the calculation section and 30-year financial data on this page for the full breakdown.

African Copper Business Description

African Copper PLC was incorporated on February 11, 2004 in England and Wales. The Company is engaged in the exploration for, development and mining of, copper deposits in the Republic of Botswana. Its main activity is that of a holding company. Its main project is the copper producing open pit Mowana mine. The Company's wholly-owned subsidiary Messina holds the Dukwe Project comprising exploration licence PL 33/2005, with an area of 139.6 km2. The Dukwe Project with its associated licences encompasses the Mowana Mine and all current estimated mineral resources and reserves associated with the mine; together with north and south extensions of mineralization that lie outside of the Mowana Mine licence area. It also owns the rights to the adjacent Thakadu-Makala deposits and holds permits in exploration properties at the Matsitama Project which is contiguous to the southern boundary of the Mowana Mine.