Assessing Financial Performance Through EVA

Value addition is at the core of managing and utilising the finances of a business. Conventionally it has been understood in terms of profit generation which has been measured by calculating the ROI or EPS or any other profitability ratio. However, such a way to understand value creation presents a one sided picture, in that it does not consider the overall cost of capital which has been used to generate the returns. In 1990, the ‘Stern Stewart & Co.’ chose to look back at the old basics given by Alferd Marshal and came up with a tool called Economic Value Added (EVA), which is simply the profitability of a company net of its overall cost of capital. Literature indicates that positive EVA also means positive Market Value Added (MVA) and vice-versa. This relationship between EVA and MVA has its implications on valuation. The present research confirms that all in all, EVA does standout as the most prominent factor in the ultimate analysis as having a decisive impact on a firm's value.