African Copper (LSE:ACU) Interest Coverage: 0 (At Loss) (As of Sep. 2014)


What is African Copper Interest Coverage?

African Copper LSE:ACU +10.00% Interest Coverage is 0 (At Loss) as of Sep. 2014. The stock has 4 warning signs investors should review.

Interest Coverage is a ratio that determines how easily a company can pay interest expenses on outstanding debt. It is calculated by dividing a company's Operating Income by its Interest Expense. African Copper's Operating Income for the six months ended in Sep. 2014 was £-0.30 Mil. African Copper's Interest Expense for the six months ended in Sep. 2014 was £-2.95 Mil. did not have earnings to cover the interest expense. The higher the ratio, the stronger the company's financial strength is.

The historical rank and industry rank for African Copper's Interest Coverage or its related term are showing as below:


LSE:ACU's Interest Coverage is not ranked *
in the Metals & Mining industry.
Industry Median: No Debt
* Ranked among companies with meaningful Interest Coverage only.

Note: If both Interest Expense and Interest Income are empty, while Net Interest Income is negative, then use Net Interest Income as Interest Expense.

African Copper  (LSE:ACU) Interest Coverage Explanation

Ben Graham requires that a company has a minimum interest coverage of 5 with the companies he invested. If the interest coverage is less than 2, the company is burdened by debt. Any business slow or recession may drag the company into a situation where it cannot pay the interest on its debt.

Interest Coverage is an important factor when GuruFocus ranks a company's overage Financial Strength .

African Copper Interest Coverage Related Terms

African Copper Interest Coverage Historical Data

* Premium members only.

The historical data trend for African Copper's Interest Coverage 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.

Note: For Interest Coverage, "No debt" indicates no long-term debt. An indication of "No Debt" does not necessarily mean that the company has no long-term debt obligations; it could be due to missing data in the quarterly or annual report. Use caution when interpreting this information.

African Copper Interest Coverage Chart

African Copper Annual Data
Trend Dec04 Dec05 Dec06 Dec07 Dec08 Dec09 Mar11 Mar12 Mar13 Mar14
Interest Coverage
Get a 7-Day Free Trial Premium Member Only Premium Member Only 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.54 0.00

African Copper Semi-Annual Data
Jun05 Dec05 Jun06 Dec06 Jun07 Dec07 Jun08 Dec08 Jun09 Dec09 Sep10 Mar11 Sep11 Mar12 Sep12 Mar13 Sep13 Mar14 Sep14
Interest Coverage 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 0.09 1.00 0.00 0.46 0.00

African Copper Interest Coverage Competitor Comparison

For the Copper subindustry, African Copper's Interest Coverage, along with its competitors' market caps and Interest Coverage 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 Interest Coverage vs Metals & Mining Industry

For the Metals & Mining industry and Basic Materials sector, African Copper's Interest Coverage distribution charts can be found below:

* The bar in red indicates where African Copper's Interest Coverage falls into.


African Copper Interest Coverage Calculation

Interest Coverage is a ratio that determines how easily a company can pay interest expenses on outstanding debt. It is calculated by dividing a company's Operating Income (EBIT) by its Interest Expense:

If Interest Expense is negative and Operating Income is positive, then

Interest Coverage=-1* Operating Income /Interest Expense

Else if Interest Expense is negative and Operating Income is negative, then

The company did not have earnings to cover the interest expense.

Else if Interest Expense is 0 and Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation is 0, then

The company had no debt (1).


Note: If both Interest Expense and Interest Income are empty, while Net Interest Income is negative, then use Net Interest Income as Interest Expense.

African Copper's Interest Coverage for the fiscal year that ended in Mar. 2014 is calculated as

Here, for the fiscal year that ended in Mar. 2014, African Copper's Interest Expense was £-5.53 Mil. Its Operating Income was £-12.51 Mil. And its Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation was £0.95 Mil.

African Copper did not have earnings to cover the interest expense.

African Copper's Interest Coverage for the quarter that ended in Sep. 2014 is calculated as

Here, for the six months ended in Sep. 2014, African Copper's Interest Expense was £-2.95 Mil. Its Operating Income was £-0.30 Mil. And its Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation was £5.53 Mil.

African Copper did not have earnings to cover the interest expense.

* 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.

The higher the ratio, the stronger the company's Financial Strength is.

Frequently Asked Questions Learn more about Interest Coverage →
What does a Interest Coverage of 0 (At Loss) mean?
African Copper (LSE:ACU) has a Interest Coverage of 0 (At Loss) as of Sep. 2014. Interest Coverage measures a company's capability to pay interest expenses on its debt. View historical data on African Copper and its competitors.
Is African Copper's Interest Coverage too high?
African Copper's current Interest Coverage is 0 (At Loss).
How does African Copper's Interest Coverage compare to competitors?
African Copper's Interest Coverage of 0 (At Loss) can be compared against companies in the Metals & Mining industry. The industry median Interest Coverage is 10,000.00. See the competitive comparison table and distribution chart on this page for a detailed peer-by-peer breakdown.
What is a good Interest Coverage for a Metals & Mining company?
The median Interest Coverage among Metals & Mining companies is 10,000.00, based on 1,317 companies in the industry. Companies in the top quartile (top 25%) have a Interest Coverage significantly above this median, while those in the bottom quartile fall well below. However, Interest Coverage 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 Interest Coverage mean?
A high Interest Coverage can signal that a stock is expensive relative to its fundamentals. Interest Coverage measures a company's capability to pay interest expenses on its debt. View historical data on African Copper and its competitors. For the Metals & Mining industry, the median Interest Coverage is 10,000.00 — values significantly above this may indicate overvaluation, while values below may suggest a bargain or underlying issues. African Copper's current Interest Coverage is 0 (At Loss). 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 Interest Coverage of 0 (At Loss). The current Interest Coverage is 0 (At Loss). Investors should evaluate multiple metrics — including profitability, growth, and financial strength — before making a decision.
How is Interest Coverage calculated?
Interest Coverage is calculated from a company's financial statements. For African Copper (LSE:ACU), the current Interest Coverage is 0 (At Loss) 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.