Reckitt Benckiser Group (LON:RKT) Seems To Use Debt Quite Sensibly

Legendary fund manager Li Lu (who Charlie Munger backed) once said, 'The biggest investment risk is not the volatility of prices, but whether you will suffer a 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. Importantly, Reckitt Benckiser Group plc (LON:RKT) does carry debt. But should shareholders be worried about its use of debt?

Why Does Debt Bring Risk?

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 usual (but still expensive) situation is where a company must dilute shareholders at a cheap share price simply to get debt under control. Of course, plenty of companies use debt to fund growth, without any negative consequences. When we think about a company's use of debt, we first look at cash and debt together.

Check out our latest analysis for Reckitt Benckiser Group

What Is Reckitt Benckiser Group's Net Debt?

The chart below, which you can click on for greater detail, shows that Reckitt Benckiser Group had UK£8.59b in debt in June 2024; about the same as the year before. However, because it has a cash reserve of UK£986.0m, its net debt is less, at about UK£7.60b.

A Look At Reckitt Benckiser Group's Liabilities

We can see from the most recent balance sheet that Reckitt Benckiser Group had liabilities of UK£7.04b falling due within a year, and liabilities of UK£11.3b due beyond that. On the other hand, it had cash of UK£986.0m and UK£2.25b worth of receivables due within a year. So it has liabilities totalling UK£15.1b more than its cash and near-term receivables, combined.

This deficit isn't so bad because Reckitt Benckiser Group is worth a massive UK£30.0b, and thus could probably raise enough capital to shore up its balance sheet, if the need arose. But we definitely want to keep our eyes open to indications that its debt is bringing too much risk.

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). 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).

We'd say that Reckitt Benckiser Group's moderate net debt to EBITDA ratio ( being 2.1), indicates prudence when it comes to debt. And its commanding EBIT of 10.9 times its interest expense, implies the debt load is as light as a peacock feather. Sadly, Reckitt Benckiser Group's EBIT actually dropped 3.8% in the last year. If that earnings trend continues then its debt load will grow heavy like the heart of a polar bear watching its sole cub. 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 Reckitt Benckiser 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 most recent three years, Reckitt Benckiser Group recorded free cash flow worth 76% of its EBIT, which is around normal, given free cash flow excludes interest and tax. This cold hard cash means it can reduce its debt when it wants to.

Our View

Both Reckitt Benckiser Group's ability to to convert EBIT to free cash flow and its interest cover gave us comfort that it can handle its debt. Having said that, its EBIT growth rate somewhat sensitizes us to potential future risks to the balance sheet. Considering this range of data points, we think Reckitt Benckiser Group is in a good position to manage its debt levels. But a word of caution: we think debt levels are high enough to justify ongoing monitoring. The balance sheet is clearly the area to focus on when you are analysing debt. But ultimately, every company can contain risks that exist outside of the balance sheet. For instance, we've identified 3 warning signs for Reckitt Benckiser 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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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.