We Think Mirza International (NSE:MIRZAINT) Is Taking Some Risk With Its Debt

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.' 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. We can see that Mirza International Limited (NSE:MIRZAINT) does use debt in its business. But the more important question is: how much risk is that debt creating?

What Risk Does Debt Bring?

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. While that is not too common, we often do see indebted companies permanently diluting shareholders because lenders force them to raise capital at a distressed price. 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 think about a company's use of debt, we first look at cash and debt together.

See our latest analysis for Mirza International

What Is Mirza International's Net Debt?

The image below, which you can click on for greater detail, shows that Mirza International had debt of ₹1.04b at the end of September 2020, a reduction from ₹3.30b over a year. On the flip side, it has ₹229.1m in cash leading to net debt of about ₹813.4m.

How Healthy Is Mirza International's Balance Sheet?

Zooming in on the latest balance sheet data, we can see that Mirza International had liabilities of ₹5.37b due within 12 months and liabilities of ₹2.28b due beyond that. On the other hand, it had cash of ₹229.1m and ₹1.77b worth of receivables due within a year. So its liabilities outweigh the sum of its cash and (near-term) receivables by ₹5.65b.

This deficit is considerable relative to its market capitalization of ₹6.87b, so it does suggest shareholders should keep an eye on Mirza International's use of debt. Should its lenders demand that it shore up the balance sheet, shareholders would likely face severe dilution.

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.

Given net debt is only 0.66 times EBITDA, it is initially surprising to see that Mirza International's EBIT has low interest coverage of 1.4 times. So while we're not necessarily alarmed we think that its debt is far from trivial. Importantly, Mirza International's EBIT fell a jaw-dropping 29% in the last twelve months. If that earnings trend continues then paying off its debt will be about as easy as herding cats on to a roller coaster. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. But it is Mirza International'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.

But our final consideration is also important, because a company cannot pay debt with paper profits; it needs cold hard cash. So we clearly need to look at whether that EBIT is leading to corresponding free cash flow. Looking at the most recent three years, Mirza International recorded free cash flow of 34% of its EBIT, which is weaker than we'd expect. That weak cash conversion makes it more difficult to handle indebtedness.

Our View

On the face of it, Mirza International's interest cover left us tentative about the stock, and its EBIT growth rate was no more enticing than the one empty restaurant on the busiest night of the year. But at least it's pretty decent at managing its debt, based on its EBITDA,; that's encouraging. Overall, it seems to us that Mirza International's balance sheet is really quite a risk to the business. For this reason we're pretty cautious about the stock, and we think shareholders should keep a close eye on its liquidity. 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. To that end, you should learn about the 4 warning signs we've spotted with Mirza International (including 1 which doesn't sit too well with us) .

Of course, if you're the type of investor who prefers buying stocks without the burden of debt, then don't hesitate to discover our exclusive list of net cash growth stocks, today.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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.
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