These 4 Measures Indicate That Innovations (NYSE:PGTI) Is Using Debt Reasonably Well

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.' It's only natural to consider a company's balance sheet when you examine how risky it is, since debt is often involved when a business collapses. As with many other companies PGT Innovations, Inc. (NYSE:PGTI) makes use of debt. But the real question is whether this debt is making the company risky.

When Is Debt Dangerous?

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. 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 Innovations

What Is Innovations's Debt?

As you can see below, at the end of April 2022, Innovations had US$626.0m of debt, up from US$474.3m a year ago. Click the image for more detail. However, it does have US$103.6m in cash offsetting this, leading to net debt of about US$522.3m.

How Healthy Is Innovations' Balance Sheet?

According to the last reported balance sheet, Innovations had liabilities of US$151.1m due within 12 months, and liabilities of US$754.7m due beyond 12 months. Offsetting this, it had US$103.6m in cash and US$230.4m in receivables that were due within 12 months. So its liabilities outweigh the sum of its cash and (near-term) receivables by US$571.8m.

Innovations has a market capitalization of US$1.07b, so it could very likely raise cash to ameliorate its balance sheet, if the need arose. But it's clear that we should definitely closely examine whether it can manage its debt without dilution.

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.

Innovations's debt is 3.1 times its EBITDA, and its EBIT cover its interest expense 3.9 times over. Taken together this implies that, while we wouldn't want to see debt levels rise, we think it can handle its current leverage. On a lighter note, we note that Innovations grew its EBIT by 22% in the last year. If sustained, this growth should make that debt evaporate like a scarce drinking water during an unnaturally hot summer. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. But ultimately the future profitability of the business will decide if Innovations can strengthen its balance sheet over time. So if you're focused on the future you can check out this free report showing analyst profit forecasts.

Finally, while the tax-man may adore accounting profits, lenders only accept cold hard cash. So it's worth checking how much of that EBIT is backed by free cash flow. Looking at the most recent three years, Innovations recorded free cash flow of 48% of its EBIT, which is weaker than we'd expect. That's not great, when it comes to paying down debt.

Our View

On our analysis Innovations's EBIT growth rate should signal that it won't have too much trouble with its debt. But the other factors we noted above weren't so encouraging. For example, its interest cover makes us a little nervous about its debt. Looking at all this data makes us feel a little cautious about Innovations's debt levels. While debt does have its upside in higher potential returns, we think shareholders should definitely consider how debt levels might make the stock more risky. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. However, not all investment risk resides within the balance sheet - far from it. We've identified 3 warning signs with Innovations (at least 1 which shouldn't be ignored) , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

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.