Cash from Operating Activities to UCF

When doing a DCF, we are looking to discount unlevered cash flows. Normally, you would get UCF from Revenue - COGS, etc. all the way down. But lets say you start with the last line in the Statement of Cashflows - Net Cash from Operating Activity. How would you go from that to UCF?

16 Comments
 
jec
R5A7BI believe it is just CFO - CapEx. The other items are accounted for in the CFO calculation.
would you also add back interest expense for unlevered fcf?
Interest expense shouldn't be included in CFO anyway. It will normally be in the financing section of the cash flow statement.
 

That was my own impression, but I wanted to make sure. When thinking about it I thought it was just adding back interest expense (since you want unlevered cash flow for a DCF) and subtract CapEx.

 
 
Best Response
FinanceWizAwon, actually interest expense is an operating cash outflow...

So:

UCF = CFO- CapEx + (1 - tax rate) * (interest expense)

Erm, no. Interest expense is a financing cash flow. Cash flow statements are usually split into three parts Cash flow from Operations Cash flow from Investing Cash flow from financing

Interest expense will usually be in section 3, and will already have been deducted to get to CFO. If you're using the company's reported CFO number (which I implied the above was), you don't need to back out interest expense again.

Operating FCF= Some of all cash flows not related to investing or financing. There's no standard formula unless you're reading from a textbook.

Unlevered FCF = subject to the users definition. Some include Capex. Some don't. But it always excludes financing cash flows.

 
Awon Eleyi Awon Eleyi Won Bad Gan
FinanceWizAwon, actually interest expense is an operating cash outflow...

So:

UCF = CFO- CapEx + (1 - tax rate) * (interest expense)

Erm, no. Interest expense is a financing cash flow. Cash flow statements are usually split into three parts Cash flow from Operations Cash flow from Investing Cash flow from financing

Interest expense will usually be in section 3, and will already have been deducted to get to CFO. If you're using the company's reported CFO number (which I implied the above was), you don't need to back out interest expense again.

UCF = Some of all cash flows not related to investing or financing. There's no standard formula unless you're reading from a textbook.

No, interest expense, under US GAAP, is CFO. IFRS can be either CFO or CFF.

 

porsche959, no they won't ask this in an interview, not that I have ever heard of anyway. But I am a bit rusty on my accounting so I am just brushing up, then I will focus on the questions I will be asked in interviews, like how to do a DCF, etc...

 
 

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