Difference between Asset Turnover and Fixed Asset Turnover


A company's investment in its assets is crucial not just to its ability to generate profits but also to the company's manageability. A company's success may be affected by a wide variety of assets, each of which has its own characteristics in terms of liquidity, usefulness, and physical presence. You may learn a lot about how profitable a business is by analyzing measures like asset turnover, fixed asset turnover, inventory turnover, and receivables turnover.

What is Asset Turnover?

This metric assesses the profitability of an enterprise by comparing its asset utilization to its revenue generation. It's useful for checking how effectively a business is doing and for finding new methods to make money with the resources already at hand. When comparing asset turnover ratios, a high ratio indicates that the company's assets are being used well, while a low ratio indicates that they are not being used to their full potential. This indicator is used to evaluate the efficiency of both short-term and long-term investments. Asset turnover assumes all assets are put to use in revenue generation.

You may determine the turnover rate of your assets by dividing your annual net sales by the average value of all of your assets.

The significance of the rotation of assets −

  • It helps firms learn how to maximize their profits from the resources they have.

  • It helps compare companies within the same sector.

  • It's useful for exposing the underlying problems in an organization.

  • There are, however, limits placed on the asset rotation rate. For instance, if a substantial asset is purchased or sold, it may not give a true picture of the situation.

What is Fixed Asset Turnover?

The sales-to-fixed-assets ratio measures the proportion of a company's sales revenue to the value of its fixed assets, such as its land, buildings, and machinery. It measures the efficiency with which a corporation can turn its fixed assets into cash flow, in addition to its operating performance. Inefficient use of fixed assets in revenue production is indicated by a low fixed asset turnover, whereas a high fixed asset turnover indicates effective use of fixed assets in creating assets.

Fixed asset turnover is calculated by dividing annualized net sales revenue by average annualized net fixed assets.

The significance of the rotation of fixed assets −

  • Checks to see if an increase in revenue may be expected from purchasing new fixed assets.

  • Usefulness of older fixed assets is evaluated.

There are, however, limitations on the frequency with which fixed assets can be traded. In companies with seasonal customer demand, for instance, it might send the wrong message. Even if a company has a high fixed asset turnover rate, there is no guarantee of a healthy cash flow, and the corporation might still wind up losing money.

Both these metrics, asset turnover and fixed asset turnover, determine the ratio of sales to assets. The following table highlights the differences between these two metrics:

Differences: Asset Turnover and Fixed Asset Turnover

The following table highlights how Asset Turnover is different from Fixed Asset Turnover −

Characteristics Asset Turnover Fixed Asset Turnover
Definition The asset turnover ratio measures how many sales were made by a company for every asset used. Fixed asset turnover measures how often a company's property, plant, and equipment are sold for more than they cost the business.
Assets All of the assets have been depleted by the turnover rate. Fixed assets are utilized via turnover.
Computation You may determine the turnover rate of your assets by dividing your annual net sales by the average value of all of your assets. Fixed asset turnover is calculated by dividing annualized net sales revenue by average annualized net fixed assets.
Importance A company's asset turnover may be used as a proxy for its profitability, a benchmark against which it can gauge its performance, and an indicator of where it stands relative to competitors. Fixed asset turnover may reveal not just if new fixed assets increase sales but also whether existing fixed assets are still serving their intended purposes.
Limitations In cases where a substantial new asset is bought or disposed of, the turnover of assets may not be indicative of the true state of affairs. The turnover rate of fixed assets may give a false image of the health of organizations with cyclical income streams. Even if a company has a high fixed asset turnover rate, there is no guarantee of a healthy cash flow, and the corporation might still wind up losing money.

Conclusion

Asset turnover measures how quickly a company's assets pay for itself in terms of the money they bring in as a proportion of the whole. It is determined by dividing the company's total net sales revenue by its average total assets. When comparing the value of a company's yearly sales to its fixed assets (land, buildings, and machinery), the ratio is referred to as the "fixed asset turnover."

Updated on: 06-Dec-2022

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