These 4 Measures Indicate That Scandinavian Tobacco Group (CPH:STG) Is Using Debt Safely

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 seems the smart money knows that debt - which is usually involved in bankruptcies - is a very important factor, when you assess how risky a company is. Importantly, Scandinavian Tobacco Group A/S (CPH:STG) does carry debt. But should shareholders be worried about its use of debt?

When Is Debt Dangerous?

Debt and other liabilities become risky for a business when it cannot easily fulfill those obligations, either with free cash flow or by raising capital at an attractive price. 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. By replacing dilution, though, debt can be an extremely good tool for businesses that need capital to invest in growth at high rates of return. When we examine debt levels, we first consider both cash and debt levels, together.

See our latest analysis for Scandinavian Tobacco Group

How Much Debt Does Scandinavian Tobacco Group Carry?

You can click the graphic below for the historical numbers, but it shows that Scandinavian Tobacco Group had kr.3.01b of debt in March 2021, down from kr.4.30b, one year before. However, because it has a cash reserve of kr.167.7m, its net debt is less, at about kr.2.84b.

A Look At Scandinavian Tobacco Group's Liabilities

We can see from the most recent balance sheet that Scandinavian Tobacco Group had liabilities of kr.1.62b falling due within a year, and liabilities of kr.4.13b due beyond that. Offsetting this, it had kr.167.7m in cash and kr.1.06b in receivables that were due within 12 months. So its liabilities outweigh the sum of its cash and (near-term) receivables by kr.4.52b.

While this might seem like a lot, it is not so bad since Scandinavian Tobacco Group has a market capitalization of kr.11.9b, and so it could probably strengthen its balance sheet by raising capital if it needed to. But it's clear that we should definitely closely examine whether it can manage its debt without dilution.

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). This way, we consider both the absolute quantum of the debt, as well as the interest rates paid on it.

Scandinavian Tobacco Group's net debt is only 1.5 times its EBITDA. And its EBIT covers its interest expense a whopping 24.3 times over. So we're pretty relaxed about its super-conservative use of debt. In addition to that, we're happy to report that Scandinavian Tobacco Group has boosted its EBIT by 39%, thus reducing the spectre of future debt repayments. There's no doubt that we learn most about debt from the balance sheet. But ultimately the future profitability of the business will decide if Scandinavian Tobacco Group can strengthen its balance sheet over time. So if you're focused on the future you can check out this free report showing analyst profit forecasts.

Finally, a company can only pay off debt with cold hard cash, not accounting profits. So it's worth checking how much of that EBIT is backed by free cash flow. Over the last three years, Scandinavian Tobacco Group recorded free cash flow worth a fulsome 89% of its EBIT, which is stronger than we'd usually expect. That positions it well to pay down debt if desirable to do so.

Our View

The good news is that Scandinavian Tobacco Group'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 conversion of EBIT to free cash flow is also very heartening. Looking at the bigger picture, we think Scandinavian Tobacco Group's use of debt seems quite reasonable and we're not concerned about it. After all, sensible leverage can boost returns 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. For instance, we've identified 1 warning sign for Scandinavian Tobacco Group that you should be aware of.

At the end of the day, it's often better to focus on companies that are free from net debt. You can access our special list of such companies (all with a track record of profit growth). It's free.

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