We Think WestBond Enterprises (CVE:WBE) Can Manage Its Debt With Ease

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.' 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. We can see that WestBond Enterprises Corporation (CVE:WBE) does use debt in its business. But the real question is whether this debt is making the company risky.

When Is Debt Dangerous?

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. 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. 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. The first thing to do when considering how much debt a business uses is to look at its cash and debt together.

Check out our latest analysis for WestBond Enterprises

What Is WestBond Enterprises's Net Debt?

You can click the graphic below for the historical numbers, but it shows that WestBond Enterprises had CA$1.89m of debt in September 2021, down from CA$2.29m, one year before. However, it also had CA$236.0k in cash, and so its net debt is CA$1.66m.

A Look At WestBond Enterprises' Liabilities

Zooming in on the latest balance sheet data, we can see that WestBond Enterprises had liabilities of CA$2.35m due within 12 months and liabilities of CA$4.84m due beyond that. Offsetting these obligations, it had cash of CA$236.0k as well as receivables valued at CA$1.46m due within 12 months. So its liabilities outweigh the sum of its cash and (near-term) receivables by CA$5.50m.

While this might seem like a lot, it is not so bad since WestBond Enterprises has a market capitalization of CA$19.6m, and so it could probably strengthen its balance sheet by raising capital if it needed to. However, it is still worthwhile taking a close look at its ability to pay off debt.

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). The advantage of this approach is that we take into account both the absolute quantum of debt (with net debt to EBITDA) and the actual interest expenses associated with that debt (with its interest cover ratio).

WestBond Enterprises has a low net debt to EBITDA ratio of only 0.40. And its EBIT covers its interest expense a whopping 23.1 times over. 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 WestBond Enterprises grew its EBIT by 180% over twelve months. If maintained that growth will make the debt even more manageable in the years ahead. There's no doubt that we learn most about debt from the balance sheet. But it is WestBond Enterprises'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. During the last three years, WestBond Enterprises produced sturdy free cash flow equating to 76% of its EBIT, about what we'd expect. This cold hard cash means it can reduce its debt when it wants to.

Our View

The good news is that WestBond Enterprises's demonstrated ability to cover its interest expense with its EBIT delights us like a fluffy puppy does a toddler. And that's just the beginning of the good news since its EBIT growth rate is also very heartening. Overall, we don't think WestBond Enterprises is taking any bad risks, as its debt load seems modest. So we're not worried about the use of a little leverage on the balance sheet. 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. For example, we've discovered 1 warning sign for WestBond Enterprises that you should be aware of before investing here.

Of course, if you're the type of investor who prefers buying stocks without the burden of debt, then don't hesitate to discover our exclusive list of net cash growth stocks, today.

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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.