We Think Base Resources (ASX:BSE) Can Stay On Top Of Its Debt

Howard Marks put it nicely when he said that, rather than worrying about share price volatility, 'The possibility of permanent loss is the risk I worry about... and every practical investor I know worries about.' 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. Importantly, Base Resources Limited (ASX:BSE) does carry debt. But should shareholders be worried about its use of debt?

Why Does Debt Bring Risk?

Generally speaking, debt only becomes a real problem when a company can't easily pay it off, either by raising capital or with its own cash flow. 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. Of course, debt can be an important tool in businesses, particularly capital heavy businesses. When we examine debt levels, we first consider both cash and debt levels, together.

See our latest analysis for Base Resources

What Is Base Resources's Debt?

As you can see below, at the end of June 2020, Base Resources had US$73.8m of debt, up from US$18.9m a year ago. Click the image for more detail. But on the other hand it also has US$162.6m in cash, leading to a US$88.7m net cash position.

How Strong Is Base Resources's Balance Sheet?

According to the last reported balance sheet, Base Resources had liabilities of US$88.3m due within 12 months, and liabilities of US$83.4m due beyond 12 months. Offsetting this, it had US$162.6m in cash and US$46.6m in receivables that were due within 12 months. So it actually has US$37.5m more liquid assets than total liabilities.

This surplus suggests that Base Resources has a conservative balance sheet, and could probably eliminate its debt without much difficulty. Simply put, the fact that Base Resources has more cash than debt is arguably a good indication that it can manage its debt safely.

But the bad news is that Base Resources has seen its EBIT plunge 14% in the last twelve months. If that rate of decline in earnings continues, the company could find itself in a tight spot. There's no doubt that we learn most about debt from the balance sheet. But ultimately the future profitability of the business will decide if Base Resources can strengthen its balance sheet over time. So if you want to see what the professionals think, you might find this free report on analyst profit forecasts to be interesting.

But our final consideration is also important, because a company cannot pay debt with paper profits; it needs cold hard cash. Base Resources may have net cash on the balance sheet, but it is still interesting to look at how well the business converts its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) to free cash flow, because that will influence both its need for, and its capacity to manage debt. During the last three years, Base Resources produced sturdy free cash flow equating to 80% of its EBIT, about what we'd expect. This free cash flow puts the company in a good position to pay down debt, when appropriate.

Summing up

While we empathize with investors who find debt concerning, you should keep in mind that Base Resources has net cash of US$88.7m, as well as more liquid assets than liabilities. The cherry on top was that in converted 80% of that EBIT to free cash flow, bringing in US$72m. So we don't think Base Resources's use of debt is risky. 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 Base Resources is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 1 of those is significant...

If, after all that, you're more interested in a fast growing company with a rock-solid balance sheet, then check out our list of net cash growth stocks without delay.

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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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