Yahoo Finance Is Marston's (LON:MARS) Using Too Much Debt?
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 Marston's PLC (LON:MARS) does have debt on its balance sheet. But is this debt a concern to shareholders?
When Is Debt A Problem?
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 common (but still painful) scenario is that it has to raise new equity capital at a low price, thus permanently diluting shareholders. Having said that, the most common situation is where a company manages its debt reasonably well - and to its own advantage. When we think about a company's use of debt, we first look at cash and debt together.
View our latest analysis for Marston's
What Is Marston's's Net Debt?
The chart below, which you can click on for greater detail, shows that Marston's had UK£1.78b in debt in March 2019; about the same as the year before. However, because it has a cash reserve of UK£159.5m, its net debt is less, at about UK£1.62b.
How Strong Is Marston's's Balance Sheet?
We can see from the most recent balance sheet that Marston's had liabilities of UK£573.3m falling due within a year, and liabilities of UK£1.58b due beyond that. Offsetting this, it had UK£159.5m in cash and UK£94.4m in receivables that were due within 12 months. So it has liabilities totalling UK£1.90b more than its cash and near-term receivables, combined.
This deficit casts a shadow over the UK£727.5m company, like a colossus towering over mere mortals. So we definitely think shareholders need to watch this one closely. After all, Marston's would likely require a major re-capitalisation if it had to pay its creditors today.
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.
Marston's shareholders face the double whammy of a high net debt to EBITDA ratio (7.8), and fairly weak interest coverage, since EBIT is just 2.0 times the interest expense. This means we'd consider it to have a heavy debt load. Even more troubling is the fact that Marston's actually let its EBIT decrease by 3.6% over the last year. If that earnings trend continues the company will face an uphill battle to pay off its debt. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. But ultimately the future profitability of the business will decide if Marston's can strengthen its balance sheet over time. 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 we clearly need to look at whether that EBIT is leading to corresponding free cash flow. Over the last three years, Marston's reported free cash flow worth 12% of its EBIT, which is really quite low. For us, cash conversion that low sparks a little paranoia about is ability to extinguish debt.
Our View
On the face of it, Marston's's net debt to EBITDA left us tentative about the stock, and its level of total liabilities was no more enticing than the one empty restaurant on the busiest night of the year. But at least its EBIT growth rate is not so bad. After considering the datapoints discussed, we think Marston's has too much debt. While some investors love that sort of risky play, it's certainly not our cup of tea. Given Marston's has a strong balance sheet is profitable and pays a dividend, it would be good to know how fast its dividends are growing, if at all. You can find out instantly by clicking this link.
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.
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.
