Cost of capital refers to the opportunity cost of making a specific investment. It is the rate of return that could have been earned by putting the same money into a different investment with equal risk. Thus, the cost of capital is the rate of return required to persuade the investor to make a given investment.
The measurement of the cost of preference capital poses some conceptual difficulty. In the case of debt, there is a binding legal obligation on the firm to pay interest, and the interest constitutes the basis to calculate the cost of debt. However, in the case of preference capital, payment of dividends is not legally binding on the firm and even if the dividends are paid, it is not a charge on earnings; rather it is a distribution or appropriation of earnings to preference shareholders. One may be, therefore, tempted to’ conclude that the dividends on preference capital do not constitute cost. This is not true.
The cost of preference capital is a function of the- dividend expected by investors. Preference capital is never issued with an intention not to pay dividends. Although it is not legally binding upon the firm to pay dividends on preference capital, yet it is generally paid when the fim1 makes sufficient profits. The failure to pay dividends, although does not cause bankruptcy, yet it can be a serious matter from the common (ordinary) shareholders’ point of view. The nonpayment of dividends on preference capital may result in voting rights and control to the preference shareholders. More than this, the firm’s credit standing may be damaged. The accumulation of preference dividend arrears may adversely affect the prospects of ordinary shareholders for receiving any dividends, because dividends on preference capital represent a prior claim on profits. As a consequence, the fim1 may find difficulty in raising funds by issuing preference or equity shares. Also, the market value of the equity shares can be adversely affected if dividends are not paid to the preference shareholders and, therefore, to the equity shareholders. For these reasons, dividends on preference capital should be paid regularly except when the firm does not make profits, or it is in a very tight cash position.
