Is Traffic Technologies (ASX:TTI) 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.' 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. Importantly, Traffic Technologies Limited (ASX:TTI) does carry debt. But the more important question is: how much risk is that debt creating?

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 common (but still painful) scenario is that it has to raise new equity capital at a low price, thus permanently diluting shareholders. Of course, plenty of companies use debt to fund growth, without any negative consequences. When we think about a company's use of debt, we first look at cash and debt together.

See our latest analysis for Traffic Technologies

How Much Debt Does Traffic Technologies Carry?

As you can see below, Traffic Technologies had AU$11.7m of debt at June 2022, down from AU$14.2m a year prior. However, because it has a cash reserve of AU$1.01m, its net debt is less, at about AU$10.7m.

A Look At Traffic Technologies' Liabilities

We can see from the most recent balance sheet that Traffic Technologies had liabilities of AU$26.7m falling due within a year, and liabilities of AU$1.09m due beyond that. Offsetting these obligations, it had cash of AU$1.01m as well as receivables valued at AU$9.63m due within 12 months. So its liabilities total AU$17.1m more than the combination of its cash and short-term receivables.

Given this deficit is actually higher than the company's market capitalization of AU$12.3m, we think shareholders really should watch Traffic Technologies's debt levels, like a parent watching their child ride a bike for the first time. Hypothetically, extremely heavy dilution would be required if the company were forced to pay down its liabilities by raising capital at the current share price.

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

Weak interest cover of 0.85 times and a disturbingly high net debt to EBITDA ratio of 5.7 hit our confidence in Traffic Technologies like a one-two punch to the gut. This means we'd consider it to have a heavy debt load. On a lighter note, we note that Traffic Technologies grew its EBIT by 23% in the last year. If it can maintain that kind of improvement, its debt load will begin to melt away like glaciers in a warming world. The balance sheet is clearly the area to focus on when you are analysing debt. But it is Traffic Technologies's earnings that will influence how the balance sheet holds up in the future. So when considering debt, it's definitely worth looking at the earnings trend. Click here for an interactive snapshot.

Finally, while the tax-man may adore accounting profits, lenders only accept cold hard cash. So the logical step is to look at the proportion of that EBIT that is matched by actual free cash flow. Over the last two years, Traffic Technologies saw substantial negative free cash flow, in total. 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 Traffic Technologies's interest cover and its track record of converting EBIT to free cash flow make us rather uncomfortable with its debt levels. But at least it's pretty decent at growing its EBIT; that's encouraging. We should also note that Infrastructure industry companies like Traffic Technologies commonly do use debt without problems. We're quite clear that we consider Traffic Technologies to be really rather risky, as a result of its balance sheet health. For this reason we're pretty cautious about the stock, and we think shareholders should keep a close eye on its liquidity. There's no doubt that we learn most about debt from the balance sheet. However, not all investment risk resides within the balance sheet - far from it. To that end, you should learn about the 5 warning signs we've spotted with Traffic Technologies (including 4 which are potentially serious) .

At the end of the day, it's often better to focus on companies that are free from net debt. You can access our special list of such companies (all with a track record of profit growth). It's free.

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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.