What You Need To Know About COLTENE Holding AG’s (VTX:CLTN) Cash Situation

If you are currently a shareholder in COLTENE Holding AG (VTX:CLTN), or considering investing in the stock, you need to examine how the business generates cash, and how it is reinvested. This difference directly flows down to how much the stock is worth. Operating in the industry, COLTENE Holding is currently valued at CHF650m. Today we will examine COLTENE Holding’s ability to generate cash flows, as well as the level of capital expenditure it is expected to incur over the next couple of years, which will result in how much money goes to you.

Check out our latest analysis for COLTENE Holding

What is free cash flow?

Free cash flow (FCF) is the amount of cash COLTENE Holding has left after it pays off its expenses, including its net capital expenditures, which is what the company needs to spend each year to maintain or grow its business operations.

I will be analysing COLTENE Holding’s FCF by looking at its FCF yield and its operating cash flow growth. The yield will tell us whether the stock is generating enough cash to compensate for the risk investors take on by holding a single stock, which I will compare to the market index. The growth will proxy for sustainability levels of this cash generation.

COLTENE Holding’s yield of 2.39% indicates its sub-standard capacity to generate cash, compared to the stock market index as a whole, accounting for the size differential. This means investors are taking on more concentrated risk on COLTENE Holding but are not being adequately rewarded for doing so.

What’s the cash flow outlook for COLTENE Holding?

Does COLTENE Holding’s future look brighter in terms of its ability to generate higher operating cash flows? This can be estimated by examining the trend of the company’s operating cash flow moving forward. Over the next two years, COLTENE Holding’s operating cash flows is expected to grow by a double-digit 75%, which is encouraging, should capital expenditure levels maintain at an appropriate level. Below is a table of COLTENE Holding’s operating cash flow in the past year, as well as the anticipated level going forward.

	Current	+1 year	+2 year
Operating Cash Flow (OCF)	CHF22m	CHF24m	CHF38m
OCF Growth Year-On-Year		9.9%	59%
OCF Growth From Current Year			75%

Next Steps:

Given a low free cash flow yield, on the basis of cash, COLTENE Holding becomes a less appealing investment. This is because you would be better compensated in terms of cash yield, by investing in the market index, as well as take on lower diversification risk. However, cash is only one aspect of investing. Now you know to keep cash flows in mind, You should continue to research COLTENE Holding to get a more holistic view of the company by looking at:

1. Valuation: What is CLTN worth today? Is the stock undervalued, even when its growth outlook is factored into its intrinsic value? The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether CLTN is currently mispriced by the market.
2. Management Team: An experienced management team on the helm increases our confidence in the business – take a look at who sits on COLTENE Holding’s board and the CEO’s back ground.
3. Other High-Performing Stocks: If you believe you should cushion your portfolio with something less risky, scroll through our free list of these great stocks here.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.