We Think Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) Is Taking Some Risk With Its Debt
We Think Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) Is Taking Some Risk With Its Debt
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.' So it might be obvious that you need to consider debt, when you think about how risky any given stock is, because too much debt can sink a company. We can see that Nordic American Tankers Limited (NYSE:NAT) does use debt in its business. But is this debt a concern to shareholders?
David Iben說得好，“波動性不是我們關心的風險，我們關心的是避免永久性資本損失。”因此，當你考慮風險時，需要考慮債務，因爲太多的債務可能會使一家公司破產。我們可以看到Nordic American Tankers Limited（NYSE：NAT）確實在業務中使用債務。但是，這筆債務是否會對股東構成威脅呢？
When Is Debt A Problem?
什麼時候負債才是一個問題？
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. Ultimately, if the company can't fulfill its legal obligations to repay debt, shareholders could walk away with nothing. 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, debt can be an important tool in businesses, particularly capital heavy businesses. When we think about a company's use of debt, we first look at cash and debt together.
債務和其他負債對企業來說會帶來風險，因爲企業不容易用自由現金流或以合理價格籌集資金來履行這些義務。最終，如果公司無法履行償還債務的法律義務，股東可能會失去資金。儘管這種情況並不常見，但我們經常看到負債累累的公司因貸方強迫它們以低於市值的價格籌集資金而導致股東永久性稀釋。當然，債務可能是企業的重要工具，特別是在資本密集型企業中。當我們考慮公司使用債務的情況時，首先考慮現金和債務的總和。
How Much Debt Does Nordic American Tankers Carry?
Nordic American Tankers承載了多少債務？
The chart below, which you can click on for greater detail, shows that Nordic American Tankers had US$293.7m in debt in March 2024; about the same as the year before. On the flip side, it has US$45.9m in cash leading to net debt of about US$247.7m.
下面的圖表（可點擊以獲取更多詳情）顯示，Nordic American Tankers於2024年3月負債2.937億美元，與前一年大致相同。在另一方面，它擁有4590萬美元的現金，導致淨債務約爲2.477億美元。
How Strong Is Nordic American Tankers' Balance Sheet?
Nordic American Tankers的資產負債表如何？
We can see from the most recent balance sheet that Nordic American Tankers had liabilities of US$147.7m falling due within a year, and liabilities of US$193.3m due beyond that. On the other hand, it had cash of US$45.9m and US$22.3m worth of receivables due within a year. So its liabilities total US$272.7m more than the combination of its cash and short-term receivables.
我們可以從最新的資產負債表中看到，Nordic American Tankers有1.477億美元的負債需要在一年內償還，還有1.933億美元的負債需要在一年後償還。另一方面，它持有4590萬美元的現金和2230萬美元的應收款項需要在一年內償還。因此，它的負債總額比其現金和短期應收款項的組合多了2.727億美元。
While this might seem like a lot, it is not so bad since Nordic American Tankers has a market capitalization of US$862.3m, and so it could probably strengthen its balance sheet by raising capital if it needed to. But it's clear that we should definitely closely examine whether it can manage its debt without dilution.
儘管可能看起來很多，但這並不算太糟糕，因爲Nordic American Tankers的市值爲8.623億美元，所以如果需要的話，它可能會通過籌集資金來加強其資產負債表。但是，很明顯我們應該仔細檢查它是否可以管理其債務而不造成稀釋。
In order to size up a company's debt relative to its earnings, we calculate its net debt divided by its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) and its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) divided by its interest expense (its 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).
爲了考察公司債務與盈利的相對關係，我們計算其淨債務與利息、稅、折舊和攤銷前利潤（EBITDA）的比值以及其利息支出（利息保障倍數）與利潤之前的利潤（EBIT）的比值。這種方法的優點是，我們考慮了與債務相關的絕對量（淨債務與EBITDA）和實際利息開支（利息保障倍數）的實際利潤。
Nordic American Tankers has net debt worth 1.7 times EBITDA, which isn't too much, but its interest cover looks a bit on the low side, with EBIT at only 3.3 times the interest expense. While these numbers do not alarm us, it's worth noting that the cost of the company's debt is having a real impact. The bad news is that Nordic American Tankers saw its EBIT decline by 13% over the last year. If that sort of decline is not arrested, then the managing its debt will be harder than selling broccoli flavoured ice-cream for a premium. The balance sheet is clearly the area to focus on when you are analysing debt. But ultimately the future profitability of the business will decide if Nordic American Tankers 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.
Nordic American Tankers的淨債務爲1.7倍EBITDA，這並不算太多，但其利息保障看起來有些低，EBIT僅爲利息支出的3.3倍。雖然這些數字並沒有令我們警覺，但值得注意的是，公司債務的成本正在產生真正的影響。壞消息是，Nordic American Tankers的EBIT在過去一年中下降了13%。如果這種下降沒有得到抑制，那麼管理其債務將比以高價出售西蘭花口味的冰淇淋更難。資產負債表顯然是分析債務時的重點。但最終，企業的未來盈利能力將決定Nordic American Tankers是否能夠隨着時間推移強化其資產負債表。因此，如果你關注未來，你可以查看這份免費報告，其中包含分析師的利潤預測。
Finally, while the tax-man may adore accounting profits, lenders only accept cold hard cash. So the logical step is to look at the proportion of that EBIT that is matched by actual free cash flow. In the last two years, Nordic American Tankers's free cash flow amounted to 28% of its EBIT, less than we'd expect. That weak cash conversion makes it more difficult to handle indebtedness.
最後，雖然稅務人員可能喜歡會計利潤，但貸方只接受冰冷的現金。因此，邏輯的下一步是查看實際自由現金流所匹配的EBIT的比例。在過去兩年中，Nordic American Tankers的自由現金流僅佔其EBIT的28%，低於我們的預期。這種薄弱的現金轉換使處理負債更加困難。
Our View
我們的觀點
On the face of it, Nordic American Tankers's interest cover left us tentative about the stock, and its EBIT growth rate was no more enticing than the one empty restaurant on the busiest night of the year. Having said that, its ability handle its debt, based on its EBITDA, isn't such a worry. Looking at the balance sheet and taking into account all these factors, we do believe that debt is making Nordic American Tankers stock a bit risky. Some people like that sort of risk, but we're mindful of the potential pitfalls, so we'd probably prefer it carry less debt. The balance sheet is clearly the area to focus on when you are analysing debt. But ultimately, every company can contain risks that exist outside of the balance sheet. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for Nordic American Tankers you should be aware of, and 1 of them makes us a bit uncomfortable.
從表面上看，Nordic American Tankers的利息保障令我們對該股持謹慎態度，其EBIT增長率也不比全年最繁忙的夜晚上最空的餐廳更具吸引力。儘管如此，從其EBITDA衡量其處理債務的能力並不是太令人擔憂。從資產負債表中看到所有這些因素，我們確信債務會使Nordic American Tankers的股票有點風險。有些人喜歡這種風險，但我們意識到其可能存在的風險，因此我們可能更喜歡它減少債務。資產負債表顯然是分析債務時的重點。但最終，每個公司都可能存在超越資產負債表範圍的風險。實例：我們發現了2個Nordic American Tankers的警告信號，您應該知道其中的1個會讓我們有些不舒服。
If you're interested in investing in businesses that can grow profits without the burden of debt, then check out this free list of growing businesses that have net cash on the balance sheet.
如果您有興趣投資能夠在不負債的情況下增長利潤的企業，請查看這份免費列表，其中列出了在資產負債表上擁有淨現金的成長型企業。
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這篇文章是Simply Wall St的一般性文章。我們根據歷史數據和分析師預測提供評論，只使用公正的方法論，我們的文章並不意味着提供任何金融建議。文章不構成買賣任何股票的建議，也不考慮您的目標或您的財務狀況。我們的目標是帶給您基本數據驅動的長期關注分析。請注意，我們的分析可能不考慮最新的價格敏感公司公告或定性材料。Simply Wall St沒有任何股票頭寸。
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com
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譯文內容由第三人軟體翻譯。