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These 4 Measures Indicate That President Energy (LON:PPC) Is Using Debt Extensively

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. As with many other companies President Energy Plc (LON:PPC) makes use of debt. But the real question is whether this debt is making the company risky.

Why Does Debt Bring Risk?

Generally speaking, debt only becomes a real problem when a company can't easily pay it off, either by raising capital or with its own cash flow. In the worst case scenario, a company can go bankrupt if it cannot pay its creditors. 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, the upside of debt is that it often represents cheap capital, especially when it replaces dilution in a company with the ability to reinvest at high rates of return. The first thing to do when considering how much debt a business uses is to look at its cash and debt together.

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See our latest analysis for President Energy

How Much Debt Does President Energy Carry?

As you can see below, at the end of June 2019, President Energy had US$27.9m of debt, up from US$21.2m a year ago. Click the image for more detail. Net debt is about the same, since the it doesn't have much cash.

AIM:PPC Historical Debt, November 1st 2019
AIM:PPC Historical Debt, November 1st 2019

How Healthy Is President Energy's Balance Sheet?

The latest balance sheet data shows that President Energy had liabilities of US$27.2m due within a year, and liabilities of US$37.2m falling due after that. On the other hand, it had cash of US$197.0k and US$13.6m worth of receivables due within a year. So it has liabilities totalling US$50.5m more than its cash and near-term receivables, combined.

This deficit is considerable relative to its market capitalization of US$58.3m, so it does suggest shareholders should keep an eye on President Energy's use of debt. Should its lenders demand that it shore up the balance sheet, shareholders would likely face severe dilution.

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.

Looking at its net debt to EBITDA of 1.5 and interest cover of 4.2 times, it seems to us that President Energy is probably using debt in a pretty reasonable way. So we'd recommend keeping a close eye on the impact financing costs are having on the business. Notably, President Energy made a loss at the EBIT level, last year, but improved that to positive EBIT of US$13m in the last twelve months. The balance sheet is clearly the area to focus on when you are analysing debt. But ultimately the future profitability of the business will decide if President Energy can strengthen its balance sheet over time. So if you want to see what the professionals think, you might find this free report on analyst profit forecasts to be interesting.

Finally, a company can only pay off debt with cold hard cash, not accounting profits. 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, President Energy burned a lot of cash. While that may be a result of expenditure for growth, it does make the debt far more risky.

Our View

We'd go so far as to say President Energy's conversion of EBIT to free cash flow was disappointing. But on the bright side, its net debt to EBITDA is a good sign, and makes us more optimistic. Looking at the bigger picture, it seems clear to us that President Energy's use of debt is creating risks for the company. If everything goes well that may pay off but the downside of this debt is a greater risk of permanent losses. In light of our reservations about the company's balance sheet, it seems sensible to check if insiders have been selling shares recently.

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.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. 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. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.