Here's Why Making Science Group (BME:MAKS) Can Manage Its Debt Responsibly

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 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. We can see that Making Science Group, S.A. (BME:MAKS) does use debt in its business. But the more important question is: how much risk is that debt creating?

When Is Debt Dangerous?

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. 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. Having said that, the most common situation is where a company manages its debt reasonably well - and to its own advantage. When we think about a company's use of debt, we first look at cash and debt together.

View our latest analysis for Making Science Group

What Is Making Science Group's Net Debt?

As you can see below, at the end of December 2020, Making Science Group had €13.9m of debt, up from €5.58m a year ago. Click the image for more detail. However, it also had €12.4m in cash, and so its net debt is €1.56m.

How Strong Is Making Science Group's Balance Sheet?

Zooming in on the latest balance sheet data, we can see that Making Science Group had liabilities of €29.9m due within 12 months and liabilities of €9.12m due beyond that. On the other hand, it had cash of €12.4m and €17.9m worth of receivables due within a year. So its liabilities total €8.79m more than the combination of its cash and short-term receivables.

Since publicly traded Making Science Group shares are worth a total of €197.8m, it seems unlikely that this level of liabilities would be a major threat. But there are sufficient liabilities that we would certainly recommend shareholders continue to monitor the balance sheet, going forward. Carrying virtually no net debt, Making Science Group has a very light debt load indeed.

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.

Looking at its net debt to EBITDA of 0.49 and interest cover of 5.4 times, it seems to us that Making Science Group is probably using debt in a pretty reasonable way. But the interest payments are certainly sufficient to have us thinking about how affordable its debt is. Pleasingly, Making Science Group is growing its EBIT faster than former Australian PM Bob Hawke downs a yard glass, boasting a 449% gain in the last twelve months. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. But it is Making Science Group's earnings that will influence how the balance sheet holds up in the future. So if you're keen to discover more about its earnings, it might be worth checking out this graph of its long term earnings trend.

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. Looking at the most recent three years, Making Science Group recorded free cash flow of 24% of its EBIT, which is weaker than we'd expect. That weak cash conversion makes it more difficult to handle indebtedness.

Our View

The good news is that Making Science Group's demonstrated ability to grow its EBIT delights us like a fluffy puppy does a toddler. But truth be told we feel its conversion of EBIT to free cash flow does undermine this impression a bit. Taking all this data into account, it seems to us that Making Science Group takes a pretty sensible approach to debt. While that brings some risk, it can also enhance returns for shareholders. 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 example, we've discovered 1 warning sign for Making Science Group that you should be aware of before investing here.

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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