Vodacom Group (JSE:VOD) Has A Pretty Healthy 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.' So it might be obvious that you need to consider debt, when you think about how risky any given stock is, because too much debt can sink a company. Importantly, Vodacom Group Limited (JSE:VOD) does carry debt. But the real question is whether this debt is making the company risky.

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What Risk Does Debt Bring?

Debt assists a business until the business has trouble paying it off, either with new capital or with free cash flow. 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. Of course, plenty of companies use debt to fund growth, without any negative consequences. When we think about a company's use of debt, we first look at cash and debt together.

How Much Debt Does Vodacom Group Carry?

You can click the graphic below for the historical numbers, but it shows that as of September 2025 Vodacom Group had R80.1b of debt, an increase on R74.8b, over one year. However, it does have R38.9b in cash offsetting this, leading to net debt of about R41.2b.

A Look At Vodacom Group's Liabilities

According to the last reported balance sheet, Vodacom Group had liabilities of R72.6b due within 12 months, and liabilities of R73.9b due beyond 12 months. Offsetting these obligations, it had cash of R38.9b as well as receivables valued at R36.2b due within 12 months. So it has liabilities totalling R71.4b more than its cash and near-term receivables, combined.

This deficit isn't so bad because Vodacom Group is worth a massive R259.2b, and thus could probably raise enough capital to shore up its balance sheet, if the need arose. However, it is still worthwhile taking a close look at its ability to pay off debt.

Check out our latest analysis for Vodacom Group

We measure a company's debt load relative to its earnings power by looking at its net debt divided by its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) and by calculating how easily its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) cover its interest expense (interest cover). 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).

While Vodacom Group's low debt to EBITDA ratio of 0.81 suggests only modest use of debt, the fact that EBIT only covered the interest expense by 5.5 times last year does give us pause. But the interest payments are certainly sufficient to have us thinking about how affordable its debt is. If Vodacom Group can keep growing EBIT at last year's rate of 10% over the last year, then it will find its debt load easier to manage. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. But it is future earnings, more than anything, that will determine Vodacom Group'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.

Finally, while the tax-man may adore accounting profits, lenders only accept cold hard cash. So the logical step is to look at the proportion of that EBIT that is matched by actual free cash flow. During the last three years, Vodacom Group generated free cash flow amounting to a very robust 84% of its EBIT, more than we'd expect. That positions it well to pay down debt if desirable to do so.

Our View

Vodacom Group's conversion of EBIT to free cash flow suggests it can handle its debt as easily as Cristiano Ronaldo could score a goal against an under 14's goalkeeper. And the good news does not stop there, as its net debt to EBITDA also supports that impression! When we consider the range of factors above, it looks like Vodacom Group is pretty sensible with its use of debt. While that brings some risk, it can also enhance returns for shareholders. 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. These risks can be hard to spot. Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Vodacom Group you should know about.

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.

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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.