Is NEXTDC (ASX:NXT) Using Too Much Debt?

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.' 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 note that NEXTDC Limited (ASX:NXT) does have debt on its balance sheet. But should shareholders be worried about its use of debt?

What Risk Does Debt Bring?

Debt and other liabilities become risky for a business when it cannot easily fulfill those obligations, either with free cash flow or by raising capital at an attractive price. In the worst case scenario, a company can go bankrupt if it cannot pay its creditors. 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, plenty of companies use debt to fund growth, without any negative consequences. The first step when considering a company's debt levels is to consider its cash and debt together.

Check out our latest analysis for NEXTDC

How Much Debt Does NEXTDC Carry?

The chart below, which you can click on for greater detail, shows that NEXTDC had AU$783.5m in debt in June 2021; about the same as the year before. However, it also had AU$652.3m in cash, and so its net debt is AU$131.2m.

How Healthy Is NEXTDC's Balance Sheet?

We can see from the most recent balance sheet that NEXTDC had liabilities of AU$77.3m falling due within a year, and liabilities of AU$903.4m due beyond that. Offsetting these obligations, it had cash of AU$652.3m as well as receivables valued at AU$49.7m due within 12 months. So it has liabilities totalling AU$278.6m more than its cash and near-term receivables, combined.

Given NEXTDC has a market capitalization of AU$6.22b, it's hard to believe these liabilities pose much threat. However, we do think it is worth keeping an eye on its balance sheet strength, as it may change over time.

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). This way, we consider both the absolute quantum of the debt, as well as the interest rates paid on it.

NEXTDC has a very low debt to EBITDA ratio of 1.1 so it is strange to see weak interest coverage, with last year's EBIT being only 0.85 times the interest expense. So while we're not necessarily alarmed we think that its debt is far from trivial. If NEXTDC can keep growing EBIT at last year's rate of 13% over the last year, then it will find its debt load easier to manage. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. But it is future earnings, more than anything, that will determine NEXTDC's ability to maintain a healthy balance sheet going forward. 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. So we always check how much of that EBIT is translated into free cash flow. During the last three years, NEXTDC burned a lot of cash. While that may be a result of expenditure for growth, it does make the debt far more risky.

Our View

While NEXTDC's interest cover makes us cautious about it, its track record of converting EBIT to free cash flow is no better. At least its net debt to EBITDA gives us reason to be optimistic. We think that NEXTDC's debt does make it a bit risky, after considering the aforementioned data points together. Not all risk is bad, as it can boost share price returns if it pays off, but this debt risk is worth keeping in mind. Given our hesitation about the stock, it would be good to know if NEXTDC insiders have sold any shares recently. You click here to find out if insiders have sold recently.

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. 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.
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