Yahoo Finance CF Industries Holdings (NYSE:CF) Seems To Use Debt Quite Sensibly
Howard Marks put it nicely when he said that, rather than worrying about share price volatility, 'The possibility of permanent loss is the risk I worry about... and every practical investor I know worries about.' So it seems the smart money knows that debt - which is usually involved in bankruptcies - is a very important factor, when you assess how risky a company is. We can see that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) does use debt in its business. But should shareholders be worried about its use of debt?
When Is Debt Dangerous?
Debt and other liabilities become risky for a business when it cannot easily fulfill those obligations, either with free cash flow or by raising capital at an attractive price. If things get really bad, the lenders can take control of the business. 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. 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 CF Industries Holdings
What Is CF Industries Holdings's Debt?
The chart below, which you can click on for greater detail, shows that CF Industries Holdings had US$4.70b in debt in June 2019; about the same as the year before. On the flip side, it has US$858.0m in cash leading to net debt of about US$3.84b.
How Strong Is CF Industries Holdings's Balance Sheet?
The latest balance sheet data shows that CF Industries Holdings had liabilities of US$1.04b due within a year, and liabilities of US$6.00b falling due after that. Offsetting this, it had US$858.0m in cash and US$313.0m in receivables that were due within 12 months. So its liabilities total US$5.87b more than the combination of its cash and short-term receivables.
While this might seem like a lot, it is not so bad since CF Industries Holdings has a huge market capitalization of US$10.7b, and so it could probably strengthen its balance sheet by raising capital if it needed to. But we definitely want to keep our eyes open to indications that its debt is bringing too much risk.
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).
CF Industries Holdings has net debt worth 2.1 times EBITDA, which isn't too much, but its interest cover looks a bit on the low side, with EBIT at only 4.1 times the interest expense. While that doesn't worry us too much, it does suggest the interest payments are somewhat of a burden. It is well worth noting that CF Industries Holdings's EBIT shot up like bamboo after rain, gaining 96% in the last twelve months. That'll make it easier to manage 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 CF Industries Holdings 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, 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. Over the last three years, CF Industries Holdings actually produced more free cash flow than EBIT. There's nothing better than incoming cash when it comes to staying in your lenders' good graces.
Our View
CF Industries Holdings'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. But, on a more sombre note, we are a little concerned by its interest cover. All these things considered, it appears that CF Industries Holdings 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. We'd be motivated to research the stock further if we found out that CF Industries Holdings insiders have bought shares recently. If you would too, then you're in luck, since today we're sharing our list of reported insider transactions for free.
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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