The South Financial Group (The South Financial Group) Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation : $1,116.21 Mil (As of Jun. 2010)

The South Financial Group Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation Chart

The South Financial Group Annual Data
	Trend	Dec00	Dec01	Dec02	Dec03	Dec04	Dec05	Dec06	Dec07	Dec08	Dec09
Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation		Get a 7-Day Free Trial					1,922.15	1,130.48	698.34	707.77	1,116.87

The South Financial Group Quarterly Data
	Sep05	Dec05	Mar06	Jun06	Sep06	Dec06	Mar07	Jun07	Sep07	Dec07	Mar08	Jun08	Sep08	Dec08	Mar09	Jun09	Sep09	Dec09	Mar10	Jun10
Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation	Get a 7-Day Free Trial															1,126.44	1,126.39	1,116.87	1,115.98	1,116.21

The South Financial Group Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation Calculation

Long-Term Debt is the debt due more than 12 months in the future. The debt can be owed to banks or bondholders. Some companies issue bonds to investors and pay interest on the bonds.

Long-Term Capital Lease Obligation represents the total liability for long-term leases lasting over one year. It's amount equal to the present value (the principal) at the beginning of the lease term less lease payments during the lease term.

The interest paid on companies' debt is reflected in the income statement as interest expense. If a company has too much debt and it cannot serve the interest payment on the debt or repay the matured debt, the company risks bankruptcy. Peter Lynch famously said: A company that does not have debt cannot go bankrupt.

A company's long term debt may have different dates of maturity and interest rates, depending on the terms.

Usually a company issues long term debt to pay for its capital expenditures. Borrowing allows the company to do things that otherwise cannot be done with only the capital it has. But debt can be risky.

The South Financial Group  (OTCPK:TSFGM.PFD) Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation Explanation

LT-Debt-to-Total-Asset is a measurement representing the percentage of a corporation's assets that are financed with loans and financial obligations lasting more than one year. The ratio provides a general measure of the financial position of a company, including its ability to meet financial requirements for outstanding loans. A year-over-year decrease in this metric would suggest the company is progressively becoming less dependent on debt to grow their business.

The South Financial Group's LT-Debt-to-Total-Asset ratio for the quarter that ended in Jun. 2010 is calculated as:

* 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.

Buffett says that durable competitive advantages carry little to no long-term debt because the company is so profitable that even expansions or acquisitions are self financed.

We are interested in long term debt load for the last ten years. If the ten years of operation show little to no long term debt, then the company has some kind of strong competitive advantage.

Warren Buffett's historic purchases indicate that on any given year, the company should have sufficient yearly net earnings to pay all long term within 3 or 4 year earnings period. (e.g. Coke + Moody's = 1yr)

Companies with enough earning power to pay long term debt in less than 3 or 4 years is a good candidate in our search for long term competitive advantage.

BUT, these companies are targets for leveraged buy outs, which saddles the business with long term debt.

If all else indicates the company has a moat, but it has ton of debt, a leveraged buyout may have created the debt. In these cases the company's bonds offer the better bet, in that the company’s earnings power is focused on paying off the debt and not growth.

Important: little or no long term debt often means a Good Long Term Bet

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The South Financial Group (The South Financial Group) Business Description