We Think Obducat (NGM:OBDU B) Has A Fair Chunk Of 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 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. As with many other companies Obducat AB (publ) (NGM:OBDU B) makes use of debt. But is this debt a concern to shareholders?

What Risk Does Debt Bring?

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. Ultimately, if the company can't fulfill its legal obligations to repay debt, shareholders could walk away with nothing. 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. Of course, the upside of debt is that it often represents cheap capital, especially when it replaces dilution in a company with the ability to reinvest at high rates of return. When we think about a company's use of debt, we first look at cash and debt together.

Check out our latest analysis for Obducat

What Is Obducat's Net Debt?

The image below, which you can click on for greater detail, shows that at March 2022 Obducat had debt of kr18.4m, up from kr6.48m in one year. However, it also had kr9.74m in cash, and so its net debt is kr8.67m.

A Look At Obducat's Liabilities

Zooming in on the latest balance sheet data, we can see that Obducat had liabilities of kr70.3m due within 12 months and liabilities of kr1.06m due beyond that. Offsetting this, it had kr9.74m in cash and kr6.58m in receivables that were due within 12 months. So its liabilities outweigh the sum of its cash and (near-term) receivables by kr55.0m.

This deficit isn't so bad because Obducat is worth kr175.1m, and thus could probably raise enough capital to shore up its balance sheet, if the need arose. But we definitely want to keep our eyes open to indications that its debt is bringing too much risk. There's no doubt that we learn most about debt from the balance sheet. But it is Obducat'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.

In the last year Obducat wasn't profitable at an EBIT level, but managed to grow its revenue by 8.6%, to kr47m. We usually like to see faster growth from unprofitable companies, but each to their own.

Caveat Emptor

Importantly, Obducat had an earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) loss over the last year. Indeed, it lost kr14m at the EBIT level. When we look at that and recall the liabilities on its balance sheet, relative to cash, it seems unwise to us for the company to have any debt. Quite frankly we think the balance sheet is far from match-fit, although it could be improved with time. However, it doesn't help that it burned through kr3.2m of cash over the last year. So to be blunt we think it is risky. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. But ultimately, every company can contain risks that exist outside of the balance sheet. Case in point: We've spotted 4 warning signs for Obducat you should be aware of.

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.