Does Nila Infrastructures (NSE:NILAINFRA) Have A Healthy Balance Sheet?

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.' It's only natural to consider a company's balance sheet when you examine how risky it is, since debt is often involved when a business collapses. Importantly, Nila Infrastructures Limited (NSE:NILAINFRA) does carry debt. But should shareholders be worried about its use of debt?

Why Does Debt Bring Risk?

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. 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, debt can be an important tool in businesses, particularly capital heavy businesses. The first step when considering a company's debt levels is to consider its cash and debt together.

See our latest analysis for Nila Infrastructures

What Is Nila Infrastructures's Net Debt?

You can click the graphic below for the historical numbers, but it shows that Nila Infrastructures had ₹1.37b of debt in September 2021, down from ₹1.43b, one year before. On the flip side, it has ₹41.1m in cash leading to net debt of about ₹1.33b.

A Look At Nila Infrastructures' Liabilities

We can see from the most recent balance sheet that Nila Infrastructures had liabilities of ₹1.33b falling due within a year, and liabilities of ₹1.12b due beyond that. Offsetting this, it had ₹41.1m in cash and ₹513.0m in receivables that were due within 12 months. So its liabilities total ₹1.89b more than the combination of its cash and short-term receivables.

This is a mountain of leverage relative to its market capitalization of ₹2.57b. This suggests shareholders would be heavily diluted if the company needed to shore up its balance sheet in a hurry.

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.

Weak interest cover of 2.0 times and a disturbingly high net debt to EBITDA ratio of 8.8 hit our confidence in Nila Infrastructures like a one-two punch to the gut. This means we'd consider it to have a heavy debt load. However, it should be some comfort for shareholders to recall that Nila Infrastructures actually grew its EBIT by a hefty 231%, over the last 12 months. If it can keep walking that path it will be in a position to shed its debt with relative ease. There's no doubt that we learn most about debt from the balance sheet. But it is Nila Infrastructures's earnings that will influence how the balance sheet holds up in the future. 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 the logical step is to look at the proportion of that EBIT that is matched by actual free cash flow. Happily for any shareholders, Nila Infrastructures actually produced more free cash flow than EBIT over the last three years. There's nothing better than incoming cash when it comes to staying in your lenders' good graces.

Our View

We weren't impressed with Nila Infrastructures's interest cover, and its net debt to EBITDA made us cautious. But its conversion of EBIT to free cash flow was significantly redeeming. Looking at all this data makes us feel a little cautious about Nila Infrastructures's debt levels. While debt does have its upside in higher potential returns, we think shareholders should definitely consider how debt levels might make the stock more risky. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. However, not all investment risk resides within the balance sheet - far from it. Case in point: We've spotted 4 warning signs for Nila Infrastructures you should be aware of, and 2 of them are significant.

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. 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.