Does Perma-Fix Environmental Services (NASDAQ:PESI) Have A Healthy Balance Sheet?

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. We can see that Perma-Fix Environmental Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:PESI) does use debt in its business. But the real question is whether this debt is making the company risky.

When Is Debt A Problem?

Debt assists a business until the business has trouble paying it off, either with new capital or with free cash flow. 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. 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.

Check out our latest analysis for Perma-Fix Environmental Services

How Much Debt Does Perma-Fix Environmental Services Carry?

As you can see below, at the end of September 2020, Perma-Fix Environmental Services had US$7.25m of debt, up from US$3.91m a year ago. Click the image for more detail. On the flip side, it has US$4.81m in cash leading to net debt of about US$2.44m.

A Look At Perma-Fix Environmental Services' Liabilities

The latest balance sheet data shows that Perma-Fix Environmental Services had liabilities of US$30.0m due within a year, and liabilities of US$17.2m falling due after that. Offsetting these obligations, it had cash of US$4.81m as well as receivables valued at US$27.8m due within 12 months. So its liabilities outweigh the sum of its cash and (near-term) receivables by US$14.6m.

Given Perma-Fix Environmental Services has a market capitalization of US$79.0m, 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.

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). This way, we consider both the absolute quantum of the debt, as well as the interest rates paid on it.

With net debt sitting at just 0.41 times EBITDA, Perma-Fix Environmental Services is arguably pretty conservatively geared. And this view is supported by the solid interest coverage, with EBIT coming in at 8.5 times the interest expense over the last year. Even more impressive was the fact that Perma-Fix Environmental Services grew its EBIT by 321% over twelve months. If maintained that growth will make the debt even more manageable in the years ahead. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. But you can't view debt in total isolation; since Perma-Fix Environmental Services will need earnings to service that debt. So when considering debt, it's definitely worth looking at the earnings trend. Click here for an interactive snapshot.

But our final consideration is also important, because a company cannot pay debt with paper profits; it needs cold hard cash. So we always check how much of that EBIT is translated into free cash flow. During the last three years, Perma-Fix Environmental Services burned a lot of cash. While investors are no doubt expecting a reversal of that situation in due course, it clearly does mean its use of debt is more risky.

Our View

Based on what we've seen Perma-Fix Environmental Services is not finding it easy, given its conversion of EBIT to free cash flow, but the other factors we considered give us cause to be optimistic. There's no doubt that its ability to to grow its EBIT is pretty flash. Considering this range of data points, we think Perma-Fix Environmental Services is in a good position to manage its debt levels. But a word of caution: we think debt levels are high enough to justify ongoing monitoring. 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. To that end, you should be aware of the 1 warning sign we've spotted with Perma-Fix Environmental Services .

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.

When trading Perma-Fix Environmental Services or any other investment, use the platform considered by many to be the Professional's Gateway to the Worlds Market, Interactive Brokers. You get the lowest-cost* trading on stocks, options, futures, forex, bonds and funds worldwide from a single integrated account. Promoted

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.
^*Interactive Brokers Rated Lowest Cost Broker by StockBrokers.com Annual Online Review 2020

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.