Antero Resources (NYSE:AR) Has A Pretty Healthy Balance Sheet

Legendary fund manager Li Lu (who Charlie Munger backed) once said, 'The biggest investment risk is not the volatility of prices, but whether you will suffer a permanent loss of capital.' When we think about how risky a company is, we always like to look at its use of debt, since debt overload can lead to ruin. We note that Antero Resources Corporation (NYSE:AR) does have debt on its balance sheet. But the more important question is: how much risk is that debt creating?

When Is Debt A Problem?

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 usual (but still expensive) situation is where a company must dilute shareholders at a cheap share price simply to get debt under control. Having said that, the most common situation is where a company manages its debt reasonably well - and to its own advantage. The first step when considering a company's debt levels is to consider its cash and debt together.

See our latest analysis for Antero Resources

How Much Debt Does Antero Resources Carry?

As you can see below, Antero Resources had US$1.58b of debt at June 2022, down from US$2.42b a year prior. Net debt is about the same, since the it doesn't have much cash.

How Healthy Is Antero Resources' Balance Sheet?

According to the last reported balance sheet, Antero Resources had liabilities of US$2.48b due within 12 months, and liabilities of US$5.46b due beyond 12 months. On the other hand, it had cash of US$4.54m and US$977.4m worth of receivables due within a year. So it has liabilities totalling US$6.96b more than its cash and near-term receivables, combined.

This is a mountain of leverage relative to its market capitalization of US$9.04b. Should its lenders demand that it shore up the balance sheet, shareholders would likely face severe dilution.

We use two main ratios to inform us about debt levels relative to earnings. The first is net debt divided by earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA), while the second is how many times its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) covers its interest expense (or its interest cover, for short). The advantage of this approach is that we take into account both the absolute quantum of debt (with net debt to EBITDA) and the actual interest expenses associated with that debt (with its interest cover ratio).

With net debt sitting at just 0.70 times EBITDA, Antero Resources is arguably pretty conservatively geared. And this view is supported by the solid interest coverage, with EBIT coming in at 8.9 times the interest expense over the last year. It was also good to see that despite losing money on the EBIT line last year, Antero Resources turned things around in the last 12 months, delivering and EBIT of US$1.4b. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. But it is future earnings, more than anything, that will determine Antero Resources'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.

But our final consideration is also important, because a company cannot pay debt with paper profits; it needs cold hard cash. So it is important to check how much of its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) converts to actual free cash flow. During the last year, Antero Resources generated free cash flow amounting to a very robust 97% of its EBIT, more than we'd expect. That puts it in a very strong position to pay down debt.

Our View

On our analysis Antero Resources's conversion of EBIT to free cash flow should signal that it won't have too much trouble with its debt. However, our other observations weren't so heartening. For instance it seems like it has to struggle a bit to handle its total liabilities. Considering this range of data points, we think Antero Resources 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. The balance sheet is clearly the area to focus on when you are analysing debt. But ultimately, every company can contain risks that exist outside of the balance sheet. These risks can be hard to spot. Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Antero Resources you should know about.

Of course, if you're the type of investor who prefers buying stocks without the burden of debt, then don't hesitate to discover our exclusive list of net cash growth stocks, today.

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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.