N.R. Spuntech Industries (TLV:SPNTC) Seems To Use Debt Rather Sparingly

Some say volatility, rather than debt, is the best way to think about risk as an investor, but Warren Buffett famously said that 'Volatility is far from synonymous with risk.' 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 can see that N.R. Spuntech Industries Ltd. (TLV:SPNTC) does use debt in its business. But is this debt a concern to shareholders?

What Risk Does Debt Bring?

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. Of course, debt can be an important tool in businesses, particularly capital heavy businesses. When we think about a company's use of debt, we first look at cash and debt together.

View our latest analysis for N.R. Spuntech Industries

What Is N.R. Spuntech Industries's Net Debt?

You can click the graphic below for the historical numbers, but it shows that N.R. Spuntech Industries had ₪208.7m of debt in March 2021, down from ₪243.6m, one year before. However, it also had ₪47.1m in cash, and so its net debt is ₪161.6m.

A Look At N.R. Spuntech Industries' Liabilities

Zooming in on the latest balance sheet data, we can see that N.R. Spuntech Industries had liabilities of ₪184.0m due within 12 months and liabilities of ₪188.9m due beyond that. Offsetting these obligations, it had cash of ₪47.1m as well as receivables valued at ₪89.9m due within 12 months. So its liabilities total ₪235.9m more than the combination of its cash and short-term receivables.

This deficit isn't so bad because N.R. Spuntech Industries is worth ₪590.6m, 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.

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

N.R. Spuntech Industries's net debt is only 1.0 times its EBITDA. And its EBIT covers its interest expense a whopping 15.4 times over. So we're pretty relaxed about its super-conservative use of debt. Better yet, N.R. Spuntech Industries grew its EBIT by 210% last year, which is an impressive improvement. If maintained that growth will make the debt even more manageable in the years ahead. There's no doubt that we learn most about debt from the balance sheet. But you can't view debt in total isolation; since N.R. Spuntech Industries will need earnings to service that debt. 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, 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, N.R. Spuntech Industries actually produced more free cash flow than EBIT. There's nothing better than incoming cash when it comes to staying in your lenders' good graces.

Our View

N.R. Spuntech Industries's interest cover suggests it can handle its debt as easily as Cristiano Ronaldo could score a goal against an under 14's goalkeeper. And that's just the beginning of the good news since its conversion of EBIT to free cash flow is also very heartening. Zooming out, N.R. Spuntech Industries seems to use debt quite reasonably; and that gets the nod from us. After all, sensible leverage can boost returns on equity. 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. To that end, you should be aware of the 2 warning signs we've spotted with N.R. Spuntech Industries .

If, after all that, you're more interested in a fast growing company with a rock-solid balance sheet, then check out our list of net cash growth stocks without delay.

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