Is Österreichische Post (VIE:POST) Using Too Much Debt?

The external fund manager backed by Berkshire Hathaway's Charlie Munger, Li Lu, makes no bones about it when he says 'The biggest investment risk is not the volatility of prices, but whether you will suffer a permanent loss of capital.' It's only natural to consider a company's balance sheet when you examine how risky it is, since debt is often involved when a business collapses. We can see that Österreichische Post AG (VIE:POST) does use debt in its business. But is this debt a concern to shareholders?

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. If things get really bad, the lenders can take control of the business. However, a more usual (but still expensive) situation is where a company must dilute shareholders at a cheap share price simply to get debt under control. Of course, debt can be an important tool in businesses, particularly capital heavy businesses. The first step when considering a company's debt levels is to consider its cash and debt together.

Check out the opportunities and risks within the XX Logistics industry.

How Much Debt Does Österreichische Post Carry?

As you can see below, at the end of June 2022, Österreichische Post had €150.8m of debt, up from €28.2m a year ago. Click the image for more detail. However, it also had €126.9m in cash, and so its net debt is €23.9m.

How Healthy Is Österreichische Post's Balance Sheet?

Zooming in on the latest balance sheet data, we can see that Österreichische Post had liabilities of €3.63b due within 12 months and liabilities of €890.4m due beyond that. Offsetting these obligations, it had cash of €126.9m as well as receivables valued at €435.4m due within 12 months. So it has liabilities totalling €3.95b more than its cash and near-term receivables, combined.

The deficiency here weighs heavily on the €1.95b company itself, as if a child were struggling under the weight of an enormous back-pack full of books, his sports gear, and a trumpet. So we definitely think shareholders need to watch this one closely. At the end of the day, Österreichische Post would probably need a major re-capitalization if its creditors were to demand repayment. Österreichische Post may have virtually no net debt, but it does have a lot of liabilities.

In order to size up a company's debt relative to its earnings, we calculate its net debt divided by its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) and its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) divided by its interest expense (its interest cover). 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).

Österreichische Post has very little debt (net of cash), and boasts a debt to EBITDA ratio of 0.082 and EBIT of 19.7 times the interest expense. So relative to past earnings, the debt load seems trivial. But the bad news is that Österreichische Post has seen its EBIT plunge 17% in the last twelve months. We think hat kind of performance, if repeated frequently, could well lead to difficulties for the stock. The balance sheet is clearly the area to focus on when you are analysing debt. But it is future earnings, more than anything, that will determine Österreichische Post's ability to maintain a healthy balance sheet going forward. 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 we clearly need to look at whether that EBIT is leading to corresponding free cash flow. Over the last three years, Österreichische Post 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

We feel some trepidation about Österreichische Post's difficulty level of total liabilities, but we've got positives to focus on, too. To wit both its interest cover and conversion of EBIT to free cash flow were encouraging signs. When we consider all the factors discussed, it seems to us that Österreichische Post is taking some risks with its use of debt. While that debt can boost returns, we think the company has enough leverage now. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. However, not all investment risk resides within the balance sheet - far from it. Be aware that Österreichische Post is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis , you should know about...

When all is said and done, sometimes its easier to focus on companies that don't even need debt. Readers can access a list of growth stocks with zero net debt 100% free, right now.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.