Does Majestic Gold (CVE:MJS) Have A Healthy Balance Sheet?

David Iben put it well when he said, 'Volatility is not a risk we care about. What we care about is avoiding the 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. As with many other companies Majestic Gold Corp. (CVE:MJS) makes use of debt. But is this debt a concern to shareholders?

When Is Debt A Problem?

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. 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. The first step when considering a company's debt levels is to consider its cash and debt together.

See our latest analysis for Majestic Gold

How Much Debt Does Majestic Gold Carry?

You can click the graphic below for the historical numbers, but it shows that as of June 2023 Majestic Gold had US$4.15m of debt, an increase on none, over one year. But it also has US$60.5m in cash to offset that, meaning it has US$56.4m net cash.

A Look At Majestic Gold's Liabilities

The latest balance sheet data shows that Majestic Gold had liabilities of US$23.4m due within a year, and liabilities of US$9.57m falling due after that. Offsetting these obligations, it had cash of US$60.5m as well as receivables valued at US$1.16m due within 12 months. So it can boast US$28.7m more liquid assets than total liabilities.

This surplus strongly suggests that Majestic Gold has a rock-solid balance sheet (and the debt is of no concern whatsoever). With this in mind one could posit that its balance sheet means the company is able to handle some adversity. Succinctly put, Majestic Gold boasts net cash, so it's fair to say it does not have a heavy debt load!

In fact Majestic Gold's saving grace is its low debt levels, because its EBIT has tanked 22% in the last twelve months. Falling earnings (if the trend continues) could eventually make even modest debt quite risky. There's no doubt that we learn most about debt from the balance sheet. But it is Majestic Gold's earnings that will influence how the balance sheet holds up in the future. So if you're keen to discover more about its earnings, it might be worth checking out this graph of its long term earnings trend.

But our final consideration is also important, because a company cannot pay debt with paper profits; it needs cold hard cash. While Majestic Gold has net cash on its balance sheet, it's still worth taking a look at its ability to convert earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) to free cash flow, to help us understand how quickly it is building (or eroding) that cash balance. During the last three years, Majestic Gold produced sturdy free cash flow equating to 80% of its EBIT, about what we'd expect. This cold hard cash means it can reduce its debt when it wants to.

Summing Up

While we empathize with investors who find debt concerning, you should keep in mind that Majestic Gold has net cash of US$56.4m, 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$17m. So is Majestic Gold's debt a risk? It doesn't seem so to us. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. But ultimately, every company can contain risks that exist outside of the balance sheet. To that end, you should be aware of the 2 warning signs we've spotted with Majestic Gold .

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. 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.