Yahoo Finance We Think Tate & Lyle (LON:TATE) Can Stay On Top Of Its Debt
David Iben put it well when he said, 'Volatility is not a risk we care about. What we care about is avoiding the permanent loss of capital.' When we think about how risky a company is, we always like to look at its use of debt, since debt overload can lead to ruin. Importantly, Tate & Lyle plc (LON:TATE) does carry debt. But the more important question is: how much risk is that debt creating?
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. 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.
See our latest analysis for Tate & Lyle
How Much Debt Does Tate & Lyle Carry?
The image below, which you can click on for greater detail, shows that at March 2019 Tate & Lyle had debt of UK£597.0m, up from UK£570.0m in one year. However, it does have UK£290.0m in cash offsetting this, leading to net debt of about UK£307.0m.
A Look At Tate & Lyle's Liabilities
We can see from the most recent balance sheet that Tate & Lyle had liabilities of UK£681.0m falling due within a year, and liabilities of UK£623.0m due beyond that. On the other hand, it had cash of UK£290.0m and UK£308.0m worth of receivables due within a year. So its liabilities total UK£706.0m more than the combination of its cash and short-term receivables.
Tate & Lyle has a market capitalization of UK£3.51b, so it could very likely raise cash to ameliorate its balance sheet, if the need arose. But it's clear that we should definitely closely examine whether it can manage its debt without 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). 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).
Tate & Lyle has a low net debt to EBITDA ratio of only 0.69. And its EBIT easily covers its interest expense, being 11.3 times the size. So you could argue it is no more threatened by its debt than an elephant is by a mouse. The good news is that Tate & Lyle has increased its EBIT by 4.3% over twelve months, which should ease any concerns about debt repayment. The balance sheet is clearly the area to focus on when you are analysing debt. But it is future earnings, more than anything, that will determine Tate & Lyle'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, a company can only pay off debt with cold hard cash, not accounting profits. So it's worth checking how much of that EBIT is backed by free cash flow. During the last three years, Tate & Lyle produced sturdy free cash flow equating to 61% of its EBIT, about what we'd expect. This free cash flow puts the company in a good position to pay down debt, when appropriate.
Our View
Tate & Lyle's interest cover suggests it can handle its debt as easily as Cristiano Ronaldo could score a goal against an under 14's goalkeeper. And we also thought its conversion of EBIT to free cash flow was a positive. All these things considered, it appears that Tate & Lyle can comfortably handle its current debt levels. Of course, while this leverage can enhance returns on equity, it does bring more risk, so it's worth keeping an eye on this one. Another positive for shareholders is that it pays dividends. So if you like receiving those dividend payments, check Tate & Lyle's dividend history, without delay!
If you're interested in investing in businesses that can grow profits without the burden of debt, then check out this free list of growing businesses that have net cash on the balance sheet.
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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.
