Legendary fund manager Li Lu (who Charlie Munger backed) once said, ‘The biggest investment risk is not the volatility of prices, but whether you will suffer a permanent loss of capital.’ 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 note that Acushnet Holdings Corp. (NYSE:GOLF) does have debt on its balance sheet. But should shareholders be worried about its use of debt?
What Risk Does Debt Bring?
Generally speaking, debt only becomes a real problem when a company can’t easily pay it off, either by raising capital or with its own cash flow. 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. Of course, debt can be an important tool in businesses, particularly capital heavy businesses. The first step when considering a company’s debt levels is to consider its cash and debt together.
How Much Debt Does Acushnet Holdings Carry?
As you can see below, Acushnet Holdings had US$344.3m of debt at June 2021, down from US$524.0m a year prior. However, it also had US$251.3m in cash, and so its net debt is US$93.1m.
A Look At Acushnet Holdings’ Liabilities
According to the last reported balance sheet, Acushnet Holdings had liabilities of US$422.8m due within 12 months, and liabilities of US$482.3m due beyond 12 months. Offsetting these obligations, it had cash of US$251.3m as well as receivables valued at US$377.9m due within 12 months. So its liabilities total US$275.9m more than the combination of its cash and short-term receivables.
Given Acushnet Holdings has a market capitalization of US$3.69b, 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.
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). This way, we consider both the absolute quantum of the debt, as well as the interest rates paid on it.
Acushnet Holdings’s net debt is only 0.25 times its EBITDA. And its EBIT covers its interest expense a whopping 27.2 times over. So you could argue it is no more threatened by its debt than an elephant is by a mouse. Even more impressive was the fact that Acushnet Holdings grew its EBIT by 198% over twelve months. That boost will make it even easier to pay down debt going forward. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. But it is future earnings, more than anything, that will determine Acushnet Holdings’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. So the logical step is to look at the proportion of that EBIT that is matched by actual free cash flow. During the last three years, Acushnet Holdings generated free cash flow amounting to a very robust 92% of its EBIT, more than we’d expect. That puts it in a very strong position to pay down debt.
Our View
Acushnet Holdings’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 the good news does not stop there, as its conversion of EBIT to free cash flow also supports that impression! We think Acushnet Holdings is no more beholden to its lenders, than the birds are to birdwatchers. For investing nerds like us its balance sheet is almost charming. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start.