Health Check: How Prudently Does Crescent Point Energy (TSE:CPG) Use 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.' 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 note that Crescent Point Energy Corp. (TSE:CPG) does have debt on its balance sheet. But is this debt a concern to shareholders?

When Is Debt Dangerous?

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. Ultimately, if the company can't fulfill its legal obligations to repay debt, shareholders could walk away with nothing. 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. Having said that, the most common situation is where a company manages its debt reasonably well - and to its own advantage. The first step when considering a company's debt levels is to consider its cash and debt together.

View our latest analysis for Crescent Point Energy

How Much Debt Does Crescent Point Energy Carry?

The image below, which you can click on for greater detail, shows that Crescent Point Energy had debt of CA$2.41b at the end of September 2020, a reduction from CA$3.58b over a year. Net debt is about the same, since the it doesn't have much cash.

How Strong Is Crescent Point Energy's Balance Sheet?

Zooming in on the latest balance sheet data, we can see that Crescent Point Energy had liabilities of CA$557.4m due within 12 months and liabilities of CA$3.39b due beyond that. Offsetting these obligations, it had cash of CA$8.60m as well as receivables valued at CA$189.5m due within 12 months. So its liabilities outweigh the sum of its cash and (near-term) receivables by CA$3.75b.

The deficiency here weighs heavily on the CA$2.06b 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, Crescent Point Energy would probably need a major re-capitalization if its creditors were to demand repayment. There's no doubt that we learn most about debt from the balance sheet. But it is future earnings, more than anything, that will determine Crescent Point Energy'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.

In the last year Crescent Point Energy had a loss before interest and tax, and actually shrunk its revenue by 41%, to CA$1.7b. To be frank that doesn't bode well.

Caveat Emptor

Not only did Crescent Point Energy's revenue slip over the last twelve months, but it also produced negative earnings before interest and tax (EBIT). Indeed, it lost a very considerable CA$4.5b at the EBIT level. When we look at that alongside the significant liabilities, we're not particularly confident about the company. We'd want to see some strong near-term improvements before getting too interested in the stock. For example, we would not want to see a repeat of last year's loss of CA$3.4b. In the meantime, we consider the stock to be risky. The balance sheet is clearly the area to focus on when you are analysing debt. However, not all investment risk resides within the balance sheet - far from it. For example - Crescent Point Energy has 2 warning signs we think you should be aware of.

If you're interested in investing in businesses that can grow profits without the burden of debt, then check out this free list of growing businesses that have net cash on the balance sheet.

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