Duty Free International (SGX:5SO) Interest Coverage: 3.23 (As of Feb. 2026) — 13% Below Median


What is Duty Free International Interest Coverage?

Duty Free International SGX:5SO -1.45% Interest Coverage is 3.23 as of Feb. 2026, which is 13% below its 10-year median of 3.71. The stock has 5 warning signs investors should review. Among 823 Retail - Cyclical companies, Duty Free International ranks worse than 83.11% on this metric.

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. Duty Free International's Operating Income for the three months ended in Feb. 2026 was S$1.32 Mil. Duty Free International's Interest Expense for the three months ended in Feb. 2026 was S$-0.41 Mil. Duty Free International's interest coverage for the quarter that ended in Feb. 2026 was 3.23. The higher the ratio, the stronger the company's financial strength is.

Warning Sign:

Ben Graham prefers companies' interest coverage to be at least 5. Duty Free International Ltd interest coverage is 2.04, which is low.

The historical rank and industry rank for Duty Free International's Interest Coverage or its related term are showing as below:

SGX:5SO' s Interest Coverage Range Over the Past 10 Years
Min: 0.99   Med: 3.71   Max: 194.74
Current: 2.04

SGX:5SO's Interest Coverage is ranked worse than
83.11% of 823 companies
in the Retail - Cyclical industry
Industry Median: 7.91 vs SGX:5SO: 2.04

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

Duty Free International  (SGX:5SO) 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 .

Duty Free International Interest Coverage Related Terms

Duty Free International Interest Coverage Historical Data

* Premium members only.

The historical data trend for Duty Free International'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.

Duty Free International Interest Coverage Chart

Duty Free International Annual Data
Trend Feb17 Feb18 Feb19 Feb20 Feb21 Feb22 Feb23 Feb24 Feb25 Feb26
Interest Coverage
Get a 7-Day Free Trial Premium Member Only Premium Member Only 0.00 0.99 1.61 0.00 2.04

Duty Free International Quarterly Data
May21 Aug21 Nov21 Feb22 May22 Aug22 Nov22 Feb23 May23 Aug23 Nov23 Feb24 May24 Aug24 Nov24 Feb25 May25 Aug25 Nov25 Feb26
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 Premium Member Only 8.88 0.65 2.45 2.07 3.23

SGX:5SO vs CASY, WSM, DKS: Interest Coverage Comparison

For the Specialty Retail subindustry, Duty Free International'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.

Duty Free International Interest Coverage vs Retail - Cyclical Industry

For the Retail - Cyclical industry and Consumer Cyclical sector, Duty Free International's Interest Coverage distribution charts can be found below:

* The bar in red indicates where Duty Free International's Interest Coverage falls into.


Duty Free International 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.

Duty Free International's Interest Coverage for the fiscal year that ended in Feb. 2026 is calculated as

Here, for the fiscal year that ended in Feb. 2026, Duty Free International's Interest Expense was S$-2.03 Mil. Its Operating Income was S$4.13 Mil. And its Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation was S$3.63 Mil.

Interest Coverage=-1* Operating Income (A: Feb. 2026 )/Interest Expense (A: Feb. 2026 )
=-1*4.129/-2.025
=2.04

Duty Free International's Interest Coverage for the quarter that ended in Feb. 2026 is calculated as

Here, for the three months ended in Feb. 2026, Duty Free International's Interest Expense was S$-0.41 Mil. Its Operating Income was S$1.32 Mil. And its Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation was S$3.63 Mil.

Interest Coverage=-1* Operating Income (Q: Feb. 2026 )/Interest Expense (Q: Feb. 2026 )
=-1*1.318/-0.408
=3.23

* 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 3.23 mean?
Duty Free International (SGX:5SO) has a Interest Coverage of 3.23 as of Feb. 2026. Interest Coverage measures a company's capability to pay interest expenses on its debt. View historical data on Duty Free International and its competitors. This is 13% below median its historical median of 3.71. Over the past decade, Duty Free International's Interest Coverage has ranged from 0.99 to 194.74. According to the industry distribution chart, Duty Free International ranks #684 out of 823 companies in the Retail - Cyclical industry, placing it in the top 83.1%.
Is Duty Free International's Interest Coverage too high?
Duty Free International's current Interest Coverage of 3.23 is 13% below median its 10-year median of 3.71. Over the past 10 years, this metric has ranged from a low of 0.99 to a high of 194.74. The Retail - Cyclical industry median Interest Coverage is 7.91. Duty Free International's value of 3.23 is 59.2% below this industry median. Based on the distribution chart, Duty Free International ranks #684 out of 823 companies in the Retail - Cyclical industry, which is in the bottom quartile relative to peers.
How does Duty Free International's Interest Coverage compare to CASY and WSM?
According to the Retail - Cyclical industry distribution chart, Duty Free International ranks #684 out of 823 companies for Interest Coverage. This places Duty Free International in the lower half of its industry. The industry median Interest Coverage is 7.91. Duty Free International's value of 3.23 is 59.2% below this benchmark. Historically, Duty Free International's own Interest Coverage has ranged from 0.99 to 194.74 over the past decade. While the company's 10-year median is 3.71 vs. the industry median of 7.91, Duty Free International has consistently been below the industry average. 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 Retail - Cyclical company?
The median Interest Coverage among Retail - Cyclical companies is 7.91, based on 823 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. Duty Free International's current Interest Coverage of 3.23 is 59.2% below the industry median. 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 Duty Free International and its competitors. For the Retail - Cyclical industry, the median Interest Coverage is 7.91 — values significantly above this may indicate overvaluation, while values below may suggest a bargain or underlying issues. Duty Free International's current Interest Coverage is 3.23, which is 13% below median its own 10-year median of 3.71. However, context matters — high-growth companies often justify higher valuations. Always evaluate alongside other metrics like GF Score™ and GF Value™.
Is Duty Free International stock overvalued right now?
Based on GuruFocus' analysis, Duty Free International (SGX:5SO) is currently considered Significantly Undervalued. The stock's GF Value™ is S$0.13, compared to a current price of S$0.07 — trading 47.7% below its estimated fair value. The current Interest Coverage is 3.23, which is 13% below median its 10-year median of 3.71 and 59.2% below the Retail - Cyclical industry median of 7.91. 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 Duty Free International (SGX:5SO), the current Interest Coverage is 3.23 as of Feb. 2026. 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.

Duty Free International Business Description

Address 138 Cecil Street, No. 12-01A, Cecil Court, Singapore, SGP, 069538
Duty Free International Ltd is a diversified group engaged in the operations of duty-free retail businesses and the manufacture of automotive component parts. Its segments include Trading of duty free goods and non-dutiable merchandise includes revenues from sale of goods, Manufacturing and supplying of automotive component parts includes revenues from sale of goods, and Investment holding and others includes revenues from sale of oil palm fresh fruit bunches. The majority of revenue is derived from Trading of duty free goods and non-dutiable merchandise segment. Beyond its core businesses, DFI also owns the Black Forest Golf and Country Club and oil palm plantation assets. The activities of the company are carried out mainly in Malaysia.