What is LTM EBITDA (TTM)?

LTM EBITDA (Last Twelve Months EBITDA) is a calculation of the company’s earnings before netting interest, taxes, depreciation, & amortization components for the past twelve months.

  • LTM EBITDA is an important metric used in the valuation of businesses as it is more focused on the company’s operating results for the immediate twelve months.Additionally, it is one of the finest measurement tools to calculate operating cash flowCalculate Operating Cash FlowThe operating cash flow formula depicts the operational cash flow acquired after deducting the operating expenses from the total revenue. It can also be evaluated as the aggregate of net income, changes in assets and liabilities and non-cash expenses.read more as it computes the operating income before deducting interest expenses, taxes, and depreciation & amortization expenses, considering the present scenarios.

Please note that LTM EBITDA is also known as TTM EBITDA (Trailing Twelve Months)

LTM EBITDA Calculation

Let us have a look at the following income statement of company ABC.

Let us first calculate the EBITDA during the calendar year

  • = EBITDA (Q1 2017) + EBITDA (Q2 2017) +EBITDA (Q3 2017) +EBITDA (Q4 2017)= $123 + $154 + $192 + $240 = $708

Now that we have calculated calendar EBITDAEBITDAEBITDA refers to earnings of the business before deducting interest expense, tax expense, depreciation and amortization expenses, and is used to see the actual business earnings and performance-based only from the core operations of the business, as well as to compare the business’s performance with that of its competitors.read more, let us calculate the last twelve months EBITDA (assuming that you are calculating LTM EBITDA in the month of April 2018)

  • LTM EBITDA = EBITDA (Q1 2018) + EBITDA (Q4 2017) +EBITDA (Q3 2017) +EBITDA (Q2 2017)TTM EBITDA = $300 + $240 + $192 + $154 = $886

Use of LTM EBITDA

  • TTM EBITDA is used in Mergers and AcquisitionsMergers And AcquisitionsMergers and acquisitions (M&A) are collaborations between two or more firms. In a merger, two or more companies functioning at the same level combine to create a new business entity. In an acquisition, a larger organization buys a smaller business entity for expansion.read more. The potential buyers prefer to value the acquisition price of Target Company based on TTM EBITDA. It helps them to determine the actual operating performance of the company without taking the effects of its financial and investment decisions.LTM EBITDA gives an idea about the pure operating results of any young company. It also tells about synergy’s effect on any restructured company’s operating performance.Investors use EBITDA to calculate various valuation ratios and compare them with other potential Target Companies. However, the purchase of Target Company may be made at any point in time, and using previous year-end EBITDA to calculate financial ratios may signify incorrect valuation results to the investors. Hence, it is the most appropriate practice among the technicians to calculate LTM EBITDA by taking the financial history of the last twelve months and computing the valuation ratios.

TTM EBITDA in Ratio Analysis

1) TTM EBITDA Margin

Does LTM EBITDA MarginEBITDA MarginEBITDA Margin is an operating profitability ratio that helps all stakeholders of the company get a clear picture of the company’s operating profitability and cash flow position. It is calculated by dividing the company’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) by its net revenue. EBITDA Margin = EBITDA / Net Salesread more refers to how much operating cash a company can generate against its total revenue in the last twelve months? This is one of the crucial Profitability RatiosProfitability RatiosProfitability ratios help in evaluating the ability of a company to generate income against the expenses. These ratios represent the financial viability of the company in various terms.read more which is calculated as

TTM EBITDA Margin = TTM EBITDA / Total TTM RevenueTTM RevenueLTM revenue, which stands for Last Twelve Months revenue (also known as TTM – trailing twelve months revenue), is the company’s total revenue in the twelve months before the date of measurement; this helps in the company’s valuation during a particular time.read more.

2) TTM EBITDA Coverage

TTM EBITDA Coverage Ratio is a kind of Solvency Ratio that defines how much cash a company has generated in the last twelve months from its operating activitiesOperating ActivitiesOperating activities generate the majority of the company’s cash flows since they are directly linked to the company’s core business activities such as sales, distribution, and production.read more to cover its financial obligations, i.e., interest and lease expenses. It can be calculated as

LTM EBITDA Coverage Ratio = TTM EBITDA + LTM Lease Expenses / LTM Interest Expenses + LTM Principle Repayment + LTM Lease Expenses

These are the key financial ratiosKey Financial RatiosFinancial ratios are indications of a company’s financial performance. There are several forms of financial ratios that indicate the company’s results, financial risks, and operational efficiency, such as the liquidity ratio, asset turnover ratio, operating profitability ratios, business risk ratios, financial risk ratio, stability ratios, and so on.read more from the point of view of investors, and they can calculate the same for (NTM) next twelve months to have better clarity about the company. LTM EBITDA is also used as a denominator in the valuation of Target Company, i.e., Enterprise Value / LTM EBITDAEnterprise Value / LTM EBITDAEV to EBITDA is the ratio between enterprise value and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization that helps the investor in the valuation of the company at a very subtle level by allowing the investor to compare a specific company to the peer company in the industry as a whole, or other comparative industries.read more.

Conclusion

LTM EBITDA helps us understand the company’s core operating cash flow and how good it is at managing its operating decisions. However, many companies use this metric for windows dressing their accounting statements. So it is always better to consider company’s debt-capital structure, capital expenditureCapital ExpenditureCapex or Capital Expenditure is the expense of the company’s total purchases of assets during a given period determined by adding the net increase in factory, property, equipment, and depreciation expense during a fiscal year.read more, and net income while considering TTM EBITDA as a sole valuation metric.

LTM EBITDA Video

This has been a guide to LTM EBITDA. Here we discuss TTM EBITDA calculation along with practical examples and its uses in valuation, ratio analysis, and M&A. You may learn more about accounting from the following articles –

  • Formula EBITDAPrice to Cash Flow Ratio ValuationEBITDA FormulaCalculate EBITDAR