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Some say volatility, rather than debt, is the best way to think about risk as an investor, but Warren Buffett famously said that 'Volatility is far from synonymous with risk.' 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. As with many other companies Godrej Properties Limited (NSE:GODREJPROP) makes use of debt. But the real question is whether this debt is making the company risky.
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 examine debt levels, we first consider both cash and debt levels, together.
Check out our latest analysis for Godrej Properties
What Is Godrej Properties's Debt?
You can click the graphic below for the historical numbers, but it shows that Godrej Properties had ₹35.2b of debt in March 2019, down from ₹37.0b, one year before. However, it also had ₹14.0b in cash, and so its net debt is ₹21.1b.
How Healthy Is Godrej Properties's Balance Sheet?
We can see from the most recent balance sheet that Godrej Properties had liabilities of ₹51.1b falling due within a year, and liabilities of ₹5.12b due beyond that. Offsetting these obligations, it had cash of ₹14.0b as well as receivables valued at ₹15.4b due within 12 months. So its liabilities outweigh the sum of its cash and (near-term) receivables by ₹26.8b.
Since publicly traded Godrej Properties shares are worth a total of ₹223.2b, it seems unlikely that this level of liabilities would be a major threat. However, we do think it is worth keeping an eye on its balance sheet strength, as it may change over time.
We use two main ratios to inform us about debt levels relative to earnings. The first is net debt divided by earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA), while the second is how many times its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) covers its interest expense (or its interest cover, for short). Thus we consider debt relative to earnings both with and without depreciation and amortization expenses.
As it happens Godrej Properties has a fairly concerning net debt to EBITDA ratio of 9.1 but very strong interest coverage of 1k. This means that unless the company has access to very cheap debt, that interest expense will likely grow in the future. Notably, Godrej Properties made a loss at the EBIT level, last year, but improved that to positive EBIT of ₹2.2b in the last twelve months. 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 Godrej Properties'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.