Stock Analysis
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- NYSE:NEM
Newmont (NYSE:NEM) Has A Rock Solid Balance Sheet
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. Importantly, Newmont Corporation (NYSE:NEM) does carry debt. But should shareholders be worried about its use of debt?
When Is Debt Dangerous?
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 common (but still painful) scenario is that it has to raise new equity capital at a low price, thus permanently diluting shareholders. Of course, debt can be an important tool in businesses, particularly capital heavy businesses. 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 Newmont
How Much Debt Does Newmont Carry?
The image below, which you can click on for greater detail, shows that Newmont had debt of US$5.48b at the end of June 2021, a reduction from US$6.03b over a year. However, it does have US$4.81b in cash offsetting this, leading to net debt of about US$675.0m.
How Healthy Is Newmont's Balance Sheet?
Zooming in on the latest balance sheet data, we can see that Newmont had liabilities of US$2.79b due within 12 months and liabilities of US$13.8b due beyond that. Offsetting this, it had US$4.81b in cash and US$341.0m in receivables that were due within 12 months. So its liabilities outweigh the sum of its cash and (near-term) receivables by US$11.4b.
While this might seem like a lot, it is not so bad since Newmont has a huge market capitalization of US$45.1b, and so it could probably strengthen its balance sheet by raising capital if it needed to. However, it is still worthwhile taking a close look at its ability to pay off debt. But either way, Newmont has virtually no net debt, so it's fair to say it does not have a heavy debt load!
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). Thus we consider debt relative to earnings both with and without depreciation and amortization expenses.
Newmont has a low net debt to EBITDA ratio of only 0.11. And its EBIT easily covers its interest expense, being 14.6 times the size. So we're pretty relaxed about its super-conservative use of debt. On top of that, Newmont grew its EBIT by 78% over the last twelve months, and that growth will make it easier to handle its debt. There's no doubt that we learn most about debt from the balance sheet. But it is future earnings, more than anything, that will determine Newmont'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.
But our final consideration is also important, because a company cannot pay debt with paper profits; it needs cold hard cash. So we clearly need to look at whether that EBIT is leading to corresponding free cash flow. During the last three years, Newmont generated free cash flow amounting to a very robust 89% of its EBIT, more than we'd expect. That puts it in a very strong position to pay down debt.
Our View
The good news is that Newmont's demonstrated ability to cover its interest expense with its EBIT delights us like a fluffy puppy does a toddler. And the good news does not stop there, as its conversion of EBIT to free cash flow also supports that impression! Considering this range of factors, it seems to us that Newmont is quite prudent with its debt, and the risks seem well managed. So we're not worried about the use of a little leverage on the balance sheet. 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 4 warning signs for Newmont (of which 1 is significant!) you should know about.
At the end of the day, it's often better to focus on companies that are free from net debt. You can access our special list of such companies (all with a track record of profit growth). It's free.
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What are the risks and opportunities for Newmont?
Newmont Corporation engages in the production and exploration of gold.
Rewards
Trading at 31.8% below our estimate of its fair value
Earnings are forecast to grow 7.56% per year
Risks
Profit margins (8%) are lower than last year (16.2%)
Large one-off items impacting financial results
Further research on
Newmont
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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About NYSE:NEM
Newmont
Newmont Corporation engages in the production and exploration of gold.
Excellent balance sheet and slightly overvalued.
