Legendary fund manager Li Lu (who Charlie Munger backed) once said, ‘The biggest investment risk is not the volatility of prices, but whether you will suffer a permanent loss of capital. 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 note that The Fulham Shore PLC (LON:FUL) does have debt on its balance sheet. But should shareholders be worried about its use of debt?
When Is Debt A Problem?
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. While that is not too common, we often do see indebted companies permanently diluting shareholders because lenders force them to raise capital at a distressed price. Having said that, the most common situation is where a company manages its debt reasonably well – and to its own advantage. When we examine debt levels, we first consider both cash and debt levels, together.
View our latest analysis for Fulham Shore
How Much Debt Does Fulham Shore Carry?
The image below, which you can click on for greater detail, shows that Fulham Shore had debt of UK£10.5m at the end of September 2019, a reduction from UK£12.1m over a year. On the flip side, it has UK£1.71m in cash leading to net debt of about UK£8.83m.
How Strong Is Fulham Shore’s Balance Sheet?
Zooming in on the latest balance sheet data, we can see that Fulham Shore had liabilities of UK£21.3m due within 12 months and liabilities of UK£76.6m due beyond that. Offsetting this, it had UK£1.71m in cash and UK£5.06m in receivables that were due within 12 months. So it has liabilities totalling UK£91.2m more than its cash and near-term receivables, combined.
When you consider that this deficiency exceeds the company’s UK£67.4m market capitalization, you might well be inclined to review the balance sheet intently. In the scenario where the company had to clean up its balance sheet quickly, it seems likely shareholders would suffer extensive dilution.
We use two main ratios to inform us about debt levels relative to earnings. The first is net debt divided by earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA), while the second is how many times its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) covers its interest expense (or its interest cover, for short). The advantage of this approach is that we take into account both the absolute quantum of debt (with net debt to EBITDA) and the actual interest expenses associated with that debt (with its interest cover ratio).
Given net debt is only 1.1 times EBITDA, it is initially surprising to see that Fulham Shore’s EBIT has low interest coverage of 1.7 times. So while we’re not necessarily alarmed we think that its debt is far from trivial. It is well worth noting that Fulham Shore’s EBIT shot up like bamboo after rain, gaining 49% in the last twelve months. That’ll make it easier to manage its debt. The balance sheet is clearly the area to focus on when you are analysing debt. But you can’t view debt in total isolation; since Fulham Shore will need earnings to service that debt. So if you’re keen to discover more about its earnings, it might be worth checking out this graph of its long term earnings trend.
Finally, while the tax-man may adore accounting profits, lenders only accept cold hard cash. So it’s worth checking how much of that EBIT is backed by free cash flow. Considering the last three years, Fulham Shore actually recorded a cash outflow, overall. Debt is usually more expensive, and almost always more risky in the hands of a company with negative free cash flow. Shareholders ought to hope for an improvement.
Our View
To be frank both Fulham Shore’s interest cover and its track record of converting EBIT to free cash flow make us rather uncomfortable with its debt levels. But on the bright side, its EBIT growth rate is a good sign, and makes us more optimistic. Looking at the bigger picture, it seems clear to us that Fulham Shore’s use of debt is creating risks for the company. If everything goes well that may pay off but the downside of this debt is a greater risk of permanent losses. The balance sheet is clearly the area to focus on when you are analysing debt. However, not all investment risk resides within the balance sheet – far from it. Take risks, for example – Fulham Shore has 2 warning signs we think you should be aware of.
Of course, if you’re the type of investor who prefers buying stocks without the burden of debt, then don’t hesitate to discover our exclusive list of net cash growth stocks, today.
If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.
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