The Value Of Property, Plant And Equipment, And Depreciation

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Property, Plant and Equipment, and Depreciation
In 2014, the value of Property, Plant and Equipment (PPE) for Martinrea Inc. increased by $137,133,000, or 16.2% YoY. Net additions of $201,833,000 in land and buildings, leasehold improvements, manufacturing equipment, other assets, and construction in progress and spare parts increased the total value of PPE. Accumulated depreciation, totaling $110,783,000, brought the net book value down, and conversion from foreign currencies caused the final value to increase by $137,133,000. These additions to PPE are most likely meant for growth of manufacturing and assembly lines, as Martinrea suggests they are purchasing more to invest in expansion programs, which is typical for such a capital intensive business.
Depreciation is calculated on either the straight-line or declining balance method, and the calculation process varies for each piece of PPE. In total, production depreciation reached $103,997,000 and non-production depreciation reached $6,786,000, up 12.2% and 3.2% respectively. The reason that production depreciation increased significantly more than non-production depreciation is because of the large additions last year in two of the components of PPE, which use a declining-balance depreciation method. How each component of PPE is depreciated can be seen in the chart in Appendix II.
Investments and Acquisitions
On July 29, 2011, Martinrea acquired Honsel AG, a leading German supplier for aluminum auto components that was facing significant liquidity issues. Martinrea purchased 55% of the assets of the company, while Anchorage LLC, a private investment firm, acquired the remaining 45%. This transaction helps Martinrea with their aluminum market share, broadens segmented earnings,...

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... complements their own steel business. If Honsel does provide this advantage, as is expected by management, the increased use of debt to fund the purchase will be a good investment. However, if Honsel becomes a burden on their business and does not generate positive returns, Martinrea will remain saddled with increased debt. Ultimately, only time will tell whether or not this increase in debt was a good strategic decision.
Debt Analysis

Debt to Equity Ratio
Martinrea currently has a debt to equity ratio of 2.67 (compared to 2.95 in 2013). A graph of the change in debt to equity over time can be found in Appendix V. This means for every dollar invested into the business by shareholders, there is $2.67 of debt being utilized by the company. This is higher than a number of competitors, but not alarming, considering the circumstances outlined in the previous section.

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