We Think Herman Miller (NASDAQ:MLHR) Can Stay On Top Of Its Debt
Howard Marks put it nicely when he said that, rather than worrying about share price volatility, 'The possibility of permanent loss is the risk I worry about... and every practical investor I know worries about. When we think about how risky a company is, we always like to look at its use of debt, since debt overload can lead to ruin. As with many other companies Herman Miller, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLHR) makes use of debt. But the more important question is: how much risk is that debt creating?
When Is Debt Dangerous?
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. 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. By replacing dilution, though, debt can be an extremely good tool for businesses that need capital to invest in growth at high rates of return. When we think about a company's use of debt, we first look at cash and debt together.
See our latest analysis for Herman Miller
How Much Debt Does Herman Miller Carry?
As you can see below, Herman Miller had US$291.0m of debt, at August 2019, which is about the same the year before. You can click the chart for greater detail. However, it also had US$168.5m in cash, and so its net debt is US$122.5m.
A Look At Herman Miller's Liabilities
Zooming in on the latest balance sheet data, we can see that Herman Miller had liabilities of US$484.9m due within 12 months and liabilities of US$554.7m due beyond that. Offsetting this, it had US$168.5m in cash and US$252.1m in receivables that were due within 12 months. So it has liabilities totalling US$619.0m more than its cash and near-term receivables, combined.
Herman Miller has a market capitalization of US$2.70b, so it could very likely raise cash to ameliorate its balance sheet, if the need arose. But we definitely want to keep our eyes open to indications that its debt is bringing too much risk.
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). 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).
Herman Miller has a low net debt to EBITDA ratio of only 0.41. And its EBIT easily covers its interest expense, being 22.6 times the size. So you could argue it is no more threatened by its debt than an elephant is by a mouse. Another good sign is that Herman Miller has been able to increase its EBIT by 27% in twelve months, making it easier to pay down debt. 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 Herman Miller can strengthen its balance sheet over time. So if you want to see what the professionals think, you might find this free report on analyst profit forecasts to be interesting.
Finally, a business needs free cash flow to pay off debt; accounting profits just don't cut it. So we always check how much of that EBIT is translated into free cash flow. Over the most recent three years, Herman Miller recorded free cash flow worth 60% of its EBIT, which is around normal, given free cash flow excludes interest and tax. This free cash flow puts the company in a good position to pay down debt, when appropriate.
Our View
Happily, Herman Miller's impressive interest cover implies it has the upper hand on its debt. And that's just the beginning of the good news since its EBIT growth rate is also very heartening. Zooming out, Herman Miller seems to use debt quite reasonably; and that gets the nod from us. While debt does bring risk, when used wisely it can also bring a higher return on equity. We'd be motivated to research the stock further if we found out that Herman Miller insiders have bought shares recently. If you would too, then you're in luck, since today we're sharing our list of reported insider transactions for free.
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.
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