Is Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) Weighed On By Its Debt Load?

The external fund manager backed by Berkshire Hathaway's Charlie Munger, Li Lu, makes no bones about it when he says 'The biggest investment risk is not the volatility of prices, but whether you will suffer a permanent loss of capital.' 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 note that Nordic American Tankers Limited (NYSE:NAT) does have debt on its balance sheet. But should shareholders be worried about its use of debt?

Why Does Debt Bring Risk?

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. 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.

View our latest analysis for Nordic American Tankers

What Is Nordic American Tankers's Debt?

You can click the graphic below for the historical numbers, but it shows that Nordic American Tankers had US$345.7m of debt in June 2021, down from US$370.1m, one year before. However, it does have US$34.3m in cash offsetting this, leading to net debt of about US$311.4m.

How Healthy Is Nordic American Tankers' Balance Sheet?

The latest balance sheet data shows that Nordic American Tankers had liabilities of US$42.6m due within a year, and liabilities of US$324.3m falling due after that. Offsetting these obligations, it had cash of US$34.3m as well as receivables valued at US$12.9m due within 12 months. So its liabilities total US$319.8m more than the combination of its cash and short-term receivables.

This is a mountain of leverage relative to its market capitalization of US$340.5m. Should its lenders demand that it shore up the balance sheet, shareholders would likely face severe dilution. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. But it is future earnings, more than anything, that will determine Nordic American Tankers's ability to maintain a healthy balance sheet going forward. So if you're focused on the future you can check out this free report showing analyst profit forecasts.

In the last year Nordic American Tankers had a loss before interest and tax, and actually shrunk its revenue by 52%, to US$200m. To be frank that doesn't bode well.

Caveat Emptor

While Nordic American Tankers's falling revenue is about as heartwarming as a wet blanket, arguably its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) loss is even less appealing. Its EBIT loss was a whopping US$64m. Considering that alongside the liabilities mentioned above does not give us much confidence that company should be using so much debt. So we think its balance sheet is a little strained, though not beyond repair. However, it doesn't help that it burned through US$47m of cash over the last year. So in short it's a really risky stock. 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. Case in point: We've spotted 4 warning signs for Nordic American Tankers you should be aware of, and 1 of them is significant.

When all is said and done, sometimes its easier to focus on companies that don't even need debt. Readers can access a list of growth stocks with zero net debt 100% free, right now.

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.

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