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Fortis (TSE:FTS) Use Of Debt Could Be Considered Risky

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. 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 Fortis Inc. (TSE:FTS) does use debt in its business. But is this debt a concern to shareholders?

What Risk Does Debt Bring?

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. If things get really bad, the lenders can take control of the business. 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. 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.

View our latest analysis for Fortis

What Is Fortis's Debt?

The chart below, which you can click on for greater detail, shows that Fortis had CA$23.4b in debt in September 2019; about the same as the year before. Net debt is about the same, since the it doesn't have much cash.

TSX:FTS Historical Debt, November 13th 2019
TSX:FTS Historical Debt, November 13th 2019

A Look At Fortis's Liabilities

According to the last reported balance sheet, Fortis had liabilities of CA$3.92b due within 12 months, and liabilities of CA$29.9b due beyond 12 months. On the other hand, it had cash of CA$228.0m and CA$1.12b worth of receivables due within a year. So its liabilities total CA$32.5b more than the combination of its cash and short-term receivables.

When you consider that this deficiency exceeds the company's huge CA$23.0b market capitalization, you might well be inclined to review the balance sheet intently. Hypothetically, extremely heavy dilution would be required if the company were forced to pay down its liabilities by raising capital at the current share price.

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). This way, we consider both the absolute quantum of the debt, as well as the interest rates paid on it.

Fortis shareholders face the double whammy of a high net debt to EBITDA ratio (6.3), and fairly weak interest coverage, since EBIT is just 2.2 times the interest expense. This means we'd consider it to have a heavy debt load. Given the debt load, it's hardly ideal that Fortis's EBIT was pretty flat over 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 Fortis'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, while the tax-man may adore accounting profits, lenders only accept cold hard cash. So we always check how much of that EBIT is translated into free cash flow. Over the last three years, Fortis saw substantial negative free cash flow, in total. While that may be a result of expenditure for growth, it does make the debt far more risky.

Our View

To be frank both Fortis's net debt to EBITDA and its track record of converting EBIT to free cash flow make us rather uncomfortable with its debt levels. But at least its EBIT growth rate is not so bad. It's also worth noting that Fortis is in the Electric Utilities industry, which is often considered to be quite defensive. After considering the datapoints discussed, we think Fortis has too much debt. While some investors love that sort of risky play, it's certainly not our cup of tea. Given the risks around Fortis's use of debt, the sensible thing to do is to check if insiders have been unloading the stock.

Of course, if you're the type of investor who prefers buying stocks without the burden of debt, then don't hesitate to discover our exclusive list of net cash growth stocks, today.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. 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. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.

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