Here's Why Fitzroy River (ASX:FZR) Has A Meaningful Debt Burden

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.' When we think about how risky a company is, we always like to look at its use of debt, since debt overload can lead to ruin. We can see that Fitzroy River Corporation Limited (ASX:FZR) does use debt in its business. But the real question is whether this debt is making the company risky.

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. By replacing dilution, though, debt can be an extremely good tool for businesses that need capital to invest in growth at high rates of return. 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 Fitzroy River

How Much Debt Does Fitzroy River Carry?

As you can see below, Fitzroy River had AU$2.50m of debt at December 2020, down from AU$5.02m a year prior. However, it also had AU$224.0k in cash, and so its net debt is AU$2.28m.

A Look At Fitzroy River's Liabilities

According to the balance sheet data, Fitzroy River had liabilities of AU$2.61m due within 12 months, but no longer term liabilities. Offsetting these obligations, it had cash of AU$224.0k as well as receivables valued at AU$240.0k due within 12 months. So its liabilities total AU$2.14m more than the combination of its cash and short-term receivables.

Of course, Fitzroy River has a market capitalization of AU$16.8m, so these liabilities are probably manageable. However, we do think it is worth keeping an eye on its balance sheet strength, as it may change over time.

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). Thus we consider debt relative to earnings both with and without depreciation and amortization expenses.

Fitzroy River shareholders face the double whammy of a high net debt to EBITDA ratio (6.5), and fairly weak interest coverage, since EBIT is just 0.095 times the interest expense. The debt burden here is substantial. One redeeming factor for Fitzroy River is that it turned last year's EBIT loss into a gain of AU$28k, over the last twelve months. There's no doubt that we learn most about debt from the balance sheet. But you can't view debt in total isolation; since Fitzroy River will need earnings to service that debt. So when considering debt, it's definitely worth looking at the earnings trend. Click here for an interactive snapshot.

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 the earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) is backed by free cash flow. During the last year, Fitzroy River burned a lot of cash. While investors are no doubt expecting a reversal of that situation in due course, it clearly does mean its use of debt is more risky.

Our View

To be frank both Fitzroy River's interest cover and its track record of converting EBIT to free cash flow make us rather uncomfortable with its debt levels. Having said that, its ability to handle its total liabilities isn't such a worry. Overall, we think it's fair to say that Fitzroy River has enough debt that there are some real risks around the balance sheet. If all goes well, that should boost returns, but on the flip side, the risk of permanent capital loss is elevated by the debt. 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. These risks can be hard to spot. Every company has them, and we've spotted 5 warning signs for Fitzroy River (of which 4 make us uncomfortable!) 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.

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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. 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.
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