Warren Buffett famously said, ‘Volatility is far from synonymous with risk.’ So it might be obvious that you need to consider debt, when you think about how risky any given stock is, because too much debt can sink a company. We can see that Momentum Group AB (publ) (STO:MMGR B) does use debt in its business. But should shareholders be worried about its use of debt?
When Is Debt Dangerous?
Debt is a tool to help businesses grow, but if a business is incapable of paying off its lenders, then it exists at their mercy. Ultimately, if the company can’t fulfill its legal obligations to repay debt, shareholders could walk away with nothing. However, a more frequent (but still costly) occurrence is where a company must issue shares at bargain-basement prices, permanently diluting shareholders, just to shore up its balance sheet. Of course, plenty of companies use debt to fund growth, without any negative consequences. The first thing to do when considering how much debt a business uses is to look at its cash and debt together.
See our latest analysis for Momentum Group
What Is Momentum Group’s Debt?
The image below, which you can click on for greater detail, shows that at June 2020 Momentum Group had debt of kr1.69b, up from kr330.0m in one year. Net debt is about the same, since the it doesn’t have much cash.
How Strong Is Momentum Group’s Balance Sheet?
We can see from the most recent balance sheet that Momentum Group had liabilities of kr2.04b falling due within a year, and liabilities of kr2.65b due beyond that. On the other hand, it had cash of kr29.0m and kr1.34b worth of receivables due within a year. So its liabilities outweigh the sum of its cash and (near-term) receivables by kr3.3b.
While this might seem like a lot, it is not so bad since Momentum Group has a market capitalization of kr7.29b, and so it could probably strengthen its balance sheet by raising capital if it needed to. However, it is still worthwhile taking a close look at its ability to pay off debt.
We measure a company’s debt load relative to its earnings power by looking at its net debt divided by its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) and by calculating how easily its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) cover its interest expense (interest cover). This way, we consider both the absolute quantum of the debt, as well as the interest rates paid on it.
Momentum Group’s net debt is 3.3 times its EBITDA, which is a significant but still reasonable amount of leverage. But its EBIT was about 14.7 times its interest expense, implying the company isn’t really paying a high cost to maintain that level of debt. Even were the low cost to prove unsustainable, that is a good sign. Also relevant is that Momentum Group has grown its EBIT by a very respectable 27% in the last year, thus enhancing its ability to pay down debt. The balance sheet is clearly the area to focus on when you are analysing debt. But ultimately the future profitability of the business will decide if Momentum Group can strengthen its balance sheet over time. So if you’re focused on the future you can check out this free report showing analyst profit forecasts.
But our final consideration is also important, because a company cannot pay debt with paper profits; it needs cold hard cash. So it’s worth checking how much of that EBIT is backed by free cash flow. Over the last three years, Momentum Group actually produced more free cash flow than EBIT. There’s nothing better than incoming cash when it comes to staying in your lenders’ good graces.
Our View
The good news is that Momentum Group’s demonstrated ability to cover its interest expense with its EBIT delights us like a fluffy puppy does a toddler. But, on a more sombre note, we are a little concerned by its net debt to EBITDA. Taking all this data into account, it seems to us that Momentum Group takes a pretty sensible approach to debt. While that brings some risk, it can also enhance returns for shareholders. The balance sheet is clearly the area to focus on when you are analysing debt. But ultimately, every company can contain risks that exist outside of the balance sheet. Be aware that Momentum Group is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 1 of those is a bit unpleasant…
At the end of the day, it’s often better to focus on companies that are free from net debt. You can access our special list of such companies (all with a track record of profit growth). It’s free.
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