We Think NTR Holding (CPH:NTR B) Can Stay On Top Of Its Debt

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.' When we think about how risky a company is, we always like to look at its use of debt, since debt overload can lead to ruin. We note that NTR Holding A/S (CPH:NTR B) does have debt on its balance sheet. But the more important question is: how much risk is that debt creating?

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. Part and parcel of capitalism is the process of 'creative destruction' where failed businesses are mercilessly liquidated by their bankers. However, a more frequent (but still costly) occurrence is where a company must issue shares at bargain-basement prices, permanently diluting shareholders, just to shore up its balance sheet. Of course, plenty of companies use debt to fund growth, without any negative consequences. The first thing to do when considering how much debt a business uses is to look at its cash and debt together.

See our latest analysis for NTR Holding

What Is NTR Holding's Net Debt?

You can click the graphic below for the historical numbers, but it shows that NTR Holding had kr.9.30m of debt in September 2020, down from kr.11.8m, one year before. On the flip side, it has kr.8.60m in cash leading to net debt of about kr.700.0k.

How Healthy Is NTR Holding's Balance Sheet?

According to the last reported balance sheet, NTR Holding had liabilities of kr.14.2m due within 12 months, and liabilities of kr.6.00m due beyond 12 months. Offsetting these obligations, it had cash of kr.8.60m as well as receivables valued at kr.11.3m due within 12 months. So these liquid assets roughly match the total liabilities.

Having regard to NTR Holding's size, it seems that its liquid assets are well balanced with its total liabilities. So it's very unlikely that the kr.107.4m company is short on cash, but still worth keeping an eye on the balance sheet. But either way, NTR Holding has virtually no net debt, so it's fair to say it does not have a heavy debt load!

In order to size up a company's debt relative to its earnings, we calculate its net debt divided by its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) and its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) divided by its interest expense (its interest cover). Thus we consider debt relative to earnings both with and without depreciation and amortization expenses.

With debt at a measly 0.06 times EBITDA and EBIT covering interest a whopping 14.4 times, it's clear that NTR Holding is not a desperate borrower. Indeed relative to its earnings its debt load seems light as a feather. But the bad news is that NTR Holding has seen its EBIT plunge 12% in the last twelve months. We think hat kind of performance, if repeated frequently, could well lead to difficulties for the stock. The balance sheet is clearly the area to focus on when you are analysing debt. But you can't view debt in total isolation; since NTR Holding will need earnings to service that debt. 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 we clearly need to look at whether that EBIT is leading to corresponding free cash flow. Happily for any shareholders, NTR Holding actually produced more free cash flow than EBIT over the last three years. That sort of strong cash generation warms our hearts like a puppy in a bumblebee suit.

Our View

NTR Holding's interest cover suggests it can handle its debt as easily as Cristiano Ronaldo could score a goal against an under 14's goalkeeper. But the stark truth is that we are concerned by its EBIT growth rate. Looking at the bigger picture, we think NTR Holding's use of debt seems quite reasonable and we're not concerned about it. While debt does bring risk, when used wisely it can also bring a higher return on equity. There's no doubt that we learn most about debt from the balance sheet. However, not all investment risk resides within the balance sheet - far from it. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for NTR Holding you should be aware of.

If you're interested in investing in businesses that can grow profits without the burden of debt, then check out this free list of growing businesses that have net cash on the balance sheet.

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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. 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.
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