Yahoo Finance Does Mimecast (NASDAQ:MIME) Have A Healthy Balance Sheet?
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.' 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 can see that Mimecast Limited (NASDAQ:MIME) does use debt in its business. But should shareholders be worried about its use of debt?
When Is Debt A Problem?
Debt is a tool to help businesses grow, but if a business is incapable of paying off its lenders, then it exists at their mercy. Ultimately, if the company can't fulfill its legal obligations to repay debt, shareholders could walk away with nothing. However, a more frequent (but still costly) occurrence is where a company must issue shares at bargain-basement prices, permanently diluting shareholders, just to shore up its balance sheet. Having said that, the most common situation is where a company manages its debt reasonably well - and to its own advantage. When we examine debt levels, we first consider both cash and debt levels, together.
Check out our latest analysis for Mimecast
How Much Debt Does Mimecast Carry?
As you can see below, at the end of March 2021, Mimecast had US$103.8m of debt, up from US$92.8m a year ago. Click the image for more detail. But on the other hand it also has US$292.9m in cash, leading to a US$189.2m net cash position.
How Strong Is Mimecast's Balance Sheet?
According to the last reported balance sheet, Mimecast had liabilities of US$345.8m due within 12 months, and liabilities of US$228.1m due beyond 12 months. Offsetting this, it had US$292.9m in cash and US$118.1m in receivables that were due within 12 months. So it has liabilities totalling US$162.7m more than its cash and near-term receivables, combined.
Given Mimecast has a market capitalization of US$3.36b, it's hard to believe these liabilities pose much threat. However, we do think it is worth keeping an eye on its balance sheet strength, as it may change over time. While it does have liabilities worth noting, Mimecast also has more cash than debt, so we're pretty confident it can manage its debt safely.
Better yet, Mimecast grew its EBIT by 510% last year, which is an impressive improvement. If maintained that growth will make the debt even more manageable in the years ahead. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. But it is future earnings, more than anything, that will determine Mimecast'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 business needs free cash flow to pay off debt; accounting profits just don't cut it. While Mimecast has net cash on its balance sheet, it's still worth taking a look at its ability to convert earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) to free cash flow, to help us understand how quickly it is building (or eroding) that cash balance. Happily for any shareholders, Mimecast actually produced more free cash flow than EBIT over the last three years. There's nothing better than incoming cash when it comes to staying in your lenders' good graces.
Summing up
While it is always sensible to look at a company's total liabilities, it is very reassuring that Mimecast has US$189.2m in net cash. And it impressed us with free cash flow of US$88m, being 384% of its EBIT. So is Mimecast's debt a risk? It doesn't seem so to us. The balance sheet is clearly the area to focus on when you are analysing debt. However, not all investment risk resides within the balance sheet - far from it. To that end, you should be aware of the 2 warning signs we've spotted with Mimecast .
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.
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. 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.
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