These 4 Measures Indicate That Arcadis (AMS:ARCAD) Is Using Debt Safely

Warren Buffett famously said, 'Volatility is far from synonymous with risk.' 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 can see that Arcadis NV (AMS:ARCAD) does use debt in its business. But the more important question is: how much risk is that debt creating?

When Is Debt Dangerous?

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 frequent (but still costly) occurrence is where a company must issue shares at bargain-basement prices, permanently diluting shareholders, just to shore up its balance sheet. Having said that, the most common situation is where a company manages its debt reasonably well - and to its own advantage. When we examine debt levels, we first consider both cash and debt levels, together.

View our latest analysis for Arcadis

What Is Arcadis's Debt?

As you can see below, Arcadis had €247.8m of debt at June 2022, down from €379.2m a year prior. However, because it has a cash reserve of €218.4m, its net debt is less, at about €29.4m.

How Healthy Is Arcadis' Balance Sheet?

The latest balance sheet data shows that Arcadis had liabilities of €1.23b due within a year, and liabilities of €517.2m falling due after that. On the other hand, it had cash of €218.4m and €1.19b worth of receivables due within a year. So it has liabilities totalling €338.9m more than its cash and near-term receivables, combined.

Given Arcadis has a market capitalization of €3.09b, it's hard to believe these liabilities pose much threat. But there are sufficient liabilities that we would certainly recommend shareholders continue to monitor the balance sheet, going forward. Carrying virtually no net debt, Arcadis has a very light debt load indeed.

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). Thus we consider debt relative to earnings both with and without depreciation and amortization expenses.

Arcadis's net debt is only 0.11 times its EBITDA. And its EBIT easily covers its interest expense, being 18.6 times the size. So you could argue it is no more threatened by its debt than an elephant is by a mouse. And we also note warmly that Arcadis grew its EBIT by 15% last year, making its debt load easier to handle. 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 Arcadis's ability to maintain a healthy balance sheet going forward. So if you want to see what the professionals think, you might find this free report on analyst profit forecasts to be interesting.

Finally, a business needs free cash flow to pay off debt; accounting profits just don't cut it. 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, Arcadis actually produced more free cash flow than EBIT over the last three years. That sort of strong cash conversion gets us as excited as the crowd when the beat drops at a Daft Punk concert.

Our View

Arcadis'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 the good news does not stop there, as its conversion of EBIT to free cash flow also supports that impression! Overall, we don't think Arcadis is taking any bad risks, as its debt load seems modest. So the balance sheet looks pretty healthy, to us. Over time, share prices tend to follow earnings per share, so if you're interested in Arcadis, you may well want to click here to check an interactive graph of its earnings per share history.

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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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.