Fortis Healthcare (NSE:FORTIS) Has A Rock Solid Balance Sheet

The external fund manager backed by Berkshire Hathaway's Charlie Munger, Li Lu, makes no bones about it when he says 'The biggest investment risk is not the volatility of prices, but whether you will suffer a permanent loss of capital.' 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 note that Fortis Healthcare Limited (NSE:FORTIS) does have debt on its balance sheet. But the more important question is: how much risk is that debt creating?

When Is Debt Dangerous?

Generally speaking, debt only becomes a real problem when a company can't easily pay it off, either by raising capital or with its own cash flow. 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. 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. The first thing to do when considering how much debt a business uses is to look at its cash and debt together.

Check out our latest analysis for Fortis Healthcare

What Is Fortis Healthcare's Net Debt?

As you can see below, at the end of September 2024, Fortis Healthcare had ₹8.77b of debt, up from ₹7.40b a year ago. Click the image for more detail. However, it does have ₹6.01b in cash offsetting this, leading to net debt of about ₹2.77b.

How Healthy Is Fortis Healthcare's Balance Sheet?

Zooming in on the latest balance sheet data, we can see that Fortis Healthcare had liabilities of ₹33.8b due within 12 months and liabilities of ₹14.8b due beyond that. Offsetting this, it had ₹6.01b in cash and ₹7.94b in receivables that were due within 12 months. So its liabilities outweigh the sum of its cash and (near-term) receivables by ₹34.7b.

Since publicly traded Fortis Healthcare shares are worth a total of ₹544.6b, 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. But either way, Fortis Healthcare has virtually no net debt, so it's fair to say it does not have a heavy debt load!

We use two main ratios to inform us about debt levels relative to earnings. The first is net debt divided by earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA), while the second is how many times its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) covers its interest expense (or its interest cover, for short). Thus we consider debt relative to earnings both with and without depreciation and amortization expenses.

Fortis Healthcare's net debt is only 0.20 times its EBITDA. And its EBIT covers its interest expense a whopping 14.8 times over. So we're pretty relaxed about its super-conservative use of debt. In addition to that, we're happy to report that Fortis Healthcare has boosted its EBIT by 30%, thus reducing the spectre of future debt repayments. There's no doubt that we learn most about debt from the balance sheet. But it is future earnings, more than anything, that will determine Fortis Healthcare's ability to maintain a healthy balance sheet going forward. So if you're focused on the future you can check out this free report showing analyst profit forecasts.

Finally, a business needs free cash flow to pay off debt; accounting profits just don't cut it. So it's worth checking how much of that EBIT is backed by free cash flow. Looking at the most recent three years, Fortis Healthcare recorded free cash flow of 38% of its EBIT, which is weaker than we'd expect. That's not great, when it comes to paying down debt.

Our View

The good news is that Fortis Healthcare's demonstrated ability to cover its interest expense with 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. It's also worth noting that Fortis Healthcare is in the Healthcare industry, which is often considered to be quite defensive. Looking at the bigger picture, we think Fortis Healthcare's use of debt seems quite reasonable and we're not concerned about it. While debt does bring risk, when used wisely it can also bring a higher return on equity. Above most other metrics, we think its important to track how fast earnings per share is growing, if at all. If you've also come to that realization, you're in luck, because today you can view this interactive graph of Fortis Healthcare's earnings per share history for free.

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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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.