Concordia Maritime (STO:CCOR B) Has Debt But No Earnings; Should You Worry?

Howard Marks put it nicely when he said that, rather than worrying about share price volatility, 'The possibility of permanent loss is the risk I worry about... and every practical investor I know worries about.' 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. As with many other companies Concordia Maritime AB (publ) (STO:CCOR B) makes use of debt. 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. In the worst case scenario, a company can go bankrupt if it cannot pay its creditors. 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. 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.

View our latest analysis for Concordia Maritime

How Much Debt Does Concordia Maritime Carry?

As you can see below, Concordia Maritime had kr869.7m of debt at March 2021, down from kr2.12b a year prior. On the flip side, it has kr45.1m in cash leading to net debt of about kr824.6m.

How Strong Is Concordia Maritime's Balance Sheet?

We can see from the most recent balance sheet that Concordia Maritime had liabilities of kr530.4m falling due within a year, and liabilities of kr1.69b due beyond that. Offsetting this, it had kr45.1m in cash and kr166.1m in receivables that were due within 12 months. So it has liabilities totalling kr2.01b more than its cash and near-term receivables, combined.

This deficit casts a shadow over the kr441.0m company, like a colossus towering over mere mortals. So we'd watch its balance sheet closely, without a doubt. At the end of the day, Concordia Maritime would probably need a major re-capitalization if its creditors were to demand repayment. The balance sheet is clearly the area to focus on when you are analysing debt. But ultimately the future profitability of the business will decide if Concordia Maritime can strengthen its balance sheet over time. So if you want to see what the professionals think, you might find this free report on analyst profit forecasts to be interesting.

Over 12 months, Concordia Maritime made a loss at the EBIT level, and saw its revenue drop to kr857m, which is a fall of 27%. To be frank that doesn't bode well.

Caveat Emptor

Not only did Concordia Maritime's revenue slip over the last twelve months, but it also produced negative earnings before interest and tax (EBIT). Indeed, it lost a very considerable kr127m at the EBIT level. If you consider the significant liabilities mentioned above, we are extremely wary of this investment. That said, it is possible that the company will turn its fortunes around. Nevertheless, we would not bet on it given that it lost kr216m in just last twelve months, and it doesn't have much by way of liquid assets. So we think this stock is quite risky. We'd prefer to pass. The balance sheet is clearly the area to focus on when you are analysing debt. However, not all investment risk resides within the balance sheet - far from it. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for Concordia Maritime you should be aware of.

At the end of the day, it's often better to focus on companies that are free from net debt. You can access our special list of such companies (all with a track record of profit growth). It's free.

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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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