These 4 Measures Indicate That Deutsche Telekom (ETR:DTE) Is Using Debt Extensively

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.' 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. As with many other companies Deutsche Telekom AG (ETR:DTE) makes use of debt. But the more important question is: how much risk is that debt creating?

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. In the worst case scenario, a company can go bankrupt if it cannot pay its creditors. 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. When we think about a company's use of debt, we first look at cash and debt together.

View our latest analysis for Deutsche Telekom

What Is Deutsche Telekom's Net Debt?

As you can see below, at the end of December 2021, Deutsche Telekom had €111.5b of debt, up from €107.1b a year ago. Click the image for more detail. However, it also had €7.62b in cash, and so its net debt is €103.8b.

How Strong Is Deutsche Telekom's Balance Sheet?

Zooming in on the latest balance sheet data, we can see that Deutsche Telekom had liabilities of €38.8b due within 12 months and liabilities of €161.4b due beyond that. Offsetting this, it had €7.62b in cash and €21.4b in receivables that were due within 12 months. So its liabilities total €171.1b more than the combination of its cash and short-term receivables.

The deficiency here weighs heavily on the €85.2b 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. After all, Deutsche Telekom would likely require a major re-capitalisation if it had to pay its creditors today.

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).

Deutsche Telekom's debt is 3.1 times its EBITDA, and its EBIT cover its interest expense 3.2 times over. This suggests that while the debt levels are significant, we'd stop short of calling them problematic. The good news is that Deutsche Telekom improved its EBIT by 2.2% over the last twelve months, thus gradually reducing its debt levels relative to its earnings. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. But it is future earnings, more than anything, that will determine Deutsche Telekom's ability to maintain a healthy balance sheet going forward. So if you want to see what the professionals think, you might find this free report on analyst profit forecasts to be interesting.

Finally, while the tax-man may adore accounting profits, lenders only accept cold hard cash. So we always check how much of that EBIT is translated into free cash flow. During the last three years, Deutsche Telekom 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

We'd go so far as to say Deutsche Telekom's level of total liabilities was disappointing. But at least its conversion of EBIT to free cash flow is not so bad. We're quite clear that we consider Deutsche Telekom to be really rather risky, as a result of its balance sheet health. For this reason we're pretty cautious about the stock, and we think shareholders should keep a close eye on its liquidity. There's no doubt that we learn most about debt from the balance sheet. But ultimately, every company can contain risks that exist outside of the balance sheet. Be aware that Deutsche Telekom is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis , you should know about...

When all is said and done, sometimes its easier to focus on companies that don't even need debt. Readers can access a list of growth stocks with zero net debt 100% free, right now.

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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.