Debt-Servicing Capacity of Norwegian Listed Non-Financial Companies

Abstract

The debt-servicing capacity of Norwegian non-financial companies listed on Oslo Børs has declined somewhat and is currently lower than the average for the past 14 years. Recently, the oil service sector in particular has experienced a marked decline in debt-servicing capacity and its debt-servicing capacity is now at a very low level compared with the historical average. Nevertheless, the level of the debt-servicing capacity of listed companies is overall well above the troughs in the early 2000s and during the financial crisis. This commentary reviews various ways of calculating debt-servicing capacity on the basis of different definitions of earnings and debt. Developments in corporate debt-servicing capacity are discussed in the light of the various calculation methods.