Warren Buffett famously said, ‘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. Importantly, Manchester United plc (NYSE:MANU) does carry debt. But is this debt a concern to shareholders?
Why Does Debt Bring Risk?
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. In the worst case scenario, a company can go bankrupt if it cannot pay its creditors. While that is not too common, we often do see indebted companies permanently diluting shareholders because lenders force them to raise capital at a distressed price. Of course, the upside of debt is that it often represents cheap capital, especially when it replaces dilution in a company with the ability to reinvest at high rates of return. The first thing to do when considering how much debt a business uses is to look at its cash and debt together.
How Much Debt Does Manchester United Carry?
As you can see below, at the end of December 2021, Manchester United had UK£585.3m of debt, up from UK£543.3m a year ago. Click the image for more detail. However, it does have UK£87.4m in cash offsetting this, leading to net debt of about UK£497.8m.
A Look At Manchester United’s Liabilities
The latest balance sheet data shows that Manchester United had liabilities of UK£473.0m due within a year, and liabilities of UK£646.1m falling due after that. Offsetting these obligations, it had cash of UK£87.4m as well as receivables valued at UK£125.8m due within 12 months. So its liabilities outweigh the sum of its cash and (near-term) receivables by UK£905.8m.
This deficit isn’t so bad because Manchester United is worth UK£1.77b, and thus could probably raise enough capital to shore up 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. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. But it is future earnings, more than anything, that will determine Manchester United’s ability to maintain a healthy balance sheet going forward.
Over 12 months, Manchester United reported revenue of UK£524m, which is a gain of 7.6%, although it did not report any earnings before interest and tax. That rate of growth is a bit slow for our taste, but it takes all types to make a world.
Caveat Emptor
Importantly, Manchester United had an earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) loss over the last year. To be specific the EBIT loss came in at UK£75m. Considering that alongside the liabilities mentioned above does not give us much confidence that company should be using so much debt. So we think its balance sheet is a little strained, though not beyond repair. Another cause for caution is that is bled UK£8.2m in negative free cash flow over the last twelve months. So suffice it to say we do consider the stock to be risky.