DSCR Formula

What is the DSCR Formula?

DSCR (Debt service coverage ratio) formula provides an intuitive understanding of the debt repayment capacity of the company. It is calculated as the ratio of Net Operating Income to Total Debt Service.

DSCR Formula = Net Operating Income / Total Debt service

Net operating income is calculated as a company’s revenue minus its operating expenses. In most cases, lenders use net operating profit, which is the same as the net operating income. Total debt service is the current debt obligations like loans, sinking fundsSinking Funds Sinking funds are funds that are periodically accumulated by the company as reserve. Later the reserve fund is used for a specific purpose—repayment of debts or repurchase of bonds on maturity. As a result, companies are not burdened with paying a huge sum at once.read more that need to be paid in the coming year.

What is the DSCR Formula?

DSCR helps an investor comprehend the debt-fulfilling ability of a company. It helps the investor understand the fiscal state of a company and check whether the company is established or not.
One can calculate DSCR by dividing the company’s net operating income by the total debt service. The value that is thus generated is interpreted in two ways; if the ratio is more than one, the ratio is good, and it suggests that the company can fulfill its debt using its income.
A DSCR ratio of less than one indicates that the company cannot pay its debts using its current earnings and that it isn’t a well-established company.
A high DSCR ratio indicates that the company has higher odds of qualifying for a loan and a better chance to get a lower interest rate, and the business is flourishing.

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Source: DSCR Formula (wallstreetmojo.com)

Explanation

The Debt service coverage ratioDebt Service Coverage Ratio Debt service coverage (DSCR) is the ratio of net operating income to total debt service that determines whether a company's net income is sufficient to cover its debt obligations. It is used to calculate the loanable amount to a corporation during commercial real estate lending.read more formula simply takes in net operating incomeNet Operating Income Net Operating Income (NOI) is a measure of profitability representing the amount earned from its core operations by deducting operating expenses from operating revenue. It excludes non-operating costs such as loss on sale of a capital asset, interest, tax expenses.read more and divides it by the debt service (Interests, sinking funds, tax expense).

It must include all the debt obligation in hand like the following:

Bank loan
Short term loansShort Term Loans Short-term loans are defined as borrowings undertaken for a short period to meet immediate monetary requirements.read more
Leases
Monthly payments for debt service

Most lenders use operating income, which is equivalent to EBIT. But some also use EBITDA to calculateEBITDA To Calculate EBITDA is Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization. Its formula calculates the company’s profitability derived by adding back interest expense, taxes, depreciation & amortization expense to net income. EBITDA = net income + interest expense + taxes + depreciation & amortization expenseread more the ratio.

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DSCR (Debt Service Coverage Ratio) Video Explanation

Examples of DSCR Formula (with Excel Template)

Let’s see some simple to advanced examples to understand it better.

You can download this DSCR Formula Excel Template here – DSCR Formula Excel Template

Example #1

Let’s suppose a real estate developer wants to take a loan from a local bank. Then the lender will first want to calculate the DSCR to determine the ability of the borrower to repay its loan. The real estate developer discloses that it has an operating income of $200,000 per year and has to pay a yearly interest of $70,000 on the loan he had taken. Therefore the lender will calculate DSCR to determine whether to grant a loan to the real estate developer.

DSCR = 200,000 / 70,000
DSCR = 2.857

A DSCR of 2.857 is a good DSCR for granting of a loan to the real estate developer.

Now, if the developer has also lease paymentsLease Payments Lease payments are the payments where the lessee under the lease agreement has to pay monthly fixed rental for using the asset to the lessor. The ownership of such an asset is generally taken back by the owner after the lease term expiration.read more to pay then of $5000, then the debt service will increase to $75000.The new DSCR will be as follows:-

DSCR= 200,000 / 75,000
DSCR = 2.66

Therefore the DSCR decreased with an increase in debt service payments.

Example #2

Calculate the DSCR for company X, which has the following Income Statement.

The operating income is calculated by subtracting the expenses from the gross profitGross Profit Gross Profit shows the earnings of the business entity from its core business activity i.e. the profit of the company that is arrived after deducting all the direct expenses like raw material cost, labor cost, etc. from the direct income generated from the sale of its goods and services.read more.

The debt services will account for the interest expenses and income tax expensesIncome Tax Expenses Income tax is levied on the income earned by an entity in a financial year as per the norms prescribed in the income tax laws. It results in the outflow of cash as the liability of income tax is paid out through bank transfers to the income tax department.read more.

Therefore, Operating Income = $13000

Debt Service = $5000

So, the calculation of DSCR will be as follows –

DSCR = 13000 / 5000

DSCR will be –

DSCR = 2.6

A DSCR of 2.6 indicates that the company has enough cash to cover its debt obligations.

Example #3

We will calculate the debt service coverage ratio of ILandFS Engineering and Construction Company. We can get the operating profit data, equivalent to operating income and debt service, from the profit & loss statement, which is available in money control.

Source: https://www.moneycontrol.com/

The net operating profit is ₹160.92 in the year 2018.

As for the debt service, we can see that it needs to pay interests that is ₹ 396.03.

Therefore calculation of the DSCR formula will be as follows –

DSCR = 160.92 / 396.03

DSCR will be

DSCR = 0.406

A DSCR of 0.406 indicates that the company doesn’t have enough cash to cover its debt obligations.

Example #4

We will calculate the debt service coverage ratio of MEP Infrastructure Developers. We can get the operating profit and debt service data from the profit & loss statement, which is available in money control.

Source: https://www.moneycontrol.com/

The net operating profit is ₹218.26 in the year 2018.

As for the debt service, we can see that it needs to pay interests and taxes, which is ₹50.04.

Calculation of DSCR will be as follows –

DSCR = 218.26 / 50.04

DSCR will be

DSCR = 4.361

A DSCR of 4.361 indicates that the company has enough cash to cover its debt obligations.

DSCR Calculator

You can use the following DSCR calculator.

Net Operating Income
Total Debt Service
DSCR Formula

DSCR Formula =

Net Operating Income
	=
Total Debt Service

0
	=	0
0

Importance

DSCR is both important to creditors and investors, but creditors analyze it more as it determines the ability of the lender to repay the current debt.

The DSCR ratio will determine whether the borrower will get his loan approved and the terms and conditions of the loan.

How to Interpret DSCR Formula?

A DSCR ratio of 1 and above is a good ratio. The higher, the better.

A ratio higher than one indicates that it is generating sufficient cash flow to cover its debt service.
A ratio less than 1 indicates that there is insufficient cash to cover the debt obligations.

A DSCR of 0.85 indicates that there is only enough operating income to cover 85% of the debt payments.

Most lenders look for a DSCR ratio of 1.15 or more depending on the economic conditions of the company.

A lender will never want to make a loss by giving a loan to a borrower who may never be able to repay. The DSCR ratio gives an insight into the company’s cash flow and how much cash the company has to repay its loan.

It is of great importance in real estate or commercial lending, as this ratio gives us an idea about the maximum loan amount a lender can get.

Benefits of a High DSCR

Higher chances of qualifying for a loan
Better chances to get a lower interest rate.
Businesses can manage debt obligations in a better way.

Therefore higher the ratio, the better it is.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How to calculate DSCR in excel?

Since this concept has a clear-cut formula that analysts can use to understand the outcome, it can easily be calculated in excel by dividing the company’s total net operating income by its total debt service.

What is a good DSCR for a rental property?

The formula for calculating DSCR for rental property is divided using PITIA constituting monthly principal, interest, taxes, insurance, and association dues by the gross monthly rent. Therefore, the above 1.2 ratios are considered good and appropriate for the investor to decide.

Can someone externally improve their debt service coverage ratio?

If the interest rate is reduced, the interest amount would decrease, reducing the installment. It thus limits the denominator (total debt service) and improves the DSCR ratio.

DSCR Formula

What is the DSCR Formula?

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