Is Major Drilling Group International (TSE:MDI) Using Too Much Debt?

Warren Buffett famously said, 'Volatility is far from synonymous with risk.' 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, Major Drilling Group International Inc. (TSE:MDI) does carry debt. But the real question is whether this debt is making the company risky.

Why Does Debt Bring Risk?

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. 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, the upside of debt is that it often represents cheap capital, especially when it replaces dilution in a company with the ability to reinvest at high rates of return. When we think about a company's use of debt, we first look at cash and debt together.

View our latest analysis for Major Drilling Group International

How Much Debt Does Major Drilling Group International Carry?

As you can see below, at the end of October 2021, Major Drilling Group International had CA$50.0m of debt, up from CA$16.0m a year ago. Click the image for more detail. On the flip side, it has CA$42.7m in cash leading to net debt of about CA$7.37m.

How Healthy Is Major Drilling Group International's Balance Sheet?

According to the last reported balance sheet, Major Drilling Group International had liabilities of CA$102.3m due within 12 months, and liabilities of CA$82.5m due beyond 12 months. On the other hand, it had cash of CA$42.7m and CA$137.9m worth of receivables due within a year. So its liabilities outweigh the sum of its cash and (near-term) receivables by CA$4.24m.

Having regard to Major Drilling Group International's size, it seems that its liquid assets are well balanced with its total liabilities. So while it's hard to imagine that the CA$702.8m company is struggling for cash, we still think it's worth monitoring its balance sheet. Carrying virtually no net debt, Major Drilling Group International has a very light debt load indeed.

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

Major Drilling Group International's net debt is only 0.10 times its EBITDA. And its EBIT easily covers its interest expense, being 24.0 times the size. So you could argue it is no more threatened by its debt than an elephant is by a mouse. Even more impressive was the fact that Major Drilling Group International grew its EBIT by 751% over twelve months. That boost will make it even easier to pay down debt going forward. 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 Major Drilling Group International can strengthen its balance sheet over time. So if you're focused on the future you can check out this free report showing analyst profit forecasts.

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 that EBIT is backed by free cash flow. During the last three years, Major Drilling Group International produced sturdy free cash flow equating to 52% 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.

Our View

Major Drilling Group International's interest cover suggests it can handle its debt as easily as Cristiano Ronaldo could score a goal against an under 14's goalkeeper. And the good news does not stop there, as its EBIT growth rate also supports that impression! Overall, we don't think Major Drilling Group International is taking any bad risks, as its debt load seems modest. So the balance sheet looks pretty healthy, to us. The balance sheet is clearly the area to focus on when you are analysing debt. But ultimately, every company can contain risks that exist outside of the balance sheet. To that end, you should be aware of the 1 warning sign we've spotted with Major Drilling Group International .

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.