Is Clean Energy Fuels (NASDAQ:CLNE) A Risky Investment?
Is Clean Energy Fuels (NASDAQ:CLNE) A Risky Investment?
The external fund manager backed by Berkshire Hathaway's Charlie Munger, Li Lu, makes no bones about it when he says '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. As with many other companies Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (NASDAQ:CLNE) makes use of debt. But the more important question is: how much risk is that debt creating?
伯克希尔哈撒韦公司的刘鲁(Li Lu)所支持的外部基金管理人明确表示:“最大的投资风险不是价格波动性,而是您是否会遭受永久性的资本损失。”因此,聪明的资本都知道破产公司通常涉及的债务是评估公司风险的非常重要的因素。和许多其他公司一样,Clean Energy Fuels Corp.(纳斯达克:CLNE)使用债务。但更重要的问题是:这些债务造成的风险有多大?
What Risk Does Debt Bring?
债务带来了什么风险?
Debt is a tool to help businesses grow, but if a business is incapable of paying off its lenders, then it exists at their mercy. 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. 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.
负债是帮助企业发展的工具,但如果企业无法偿还贷款,那么它就得听债权人摆布。如果情况真的变得很糟,债权人就会控制公司。虽然这种情况并不太常见,但我们经常看到负债累累的公司因为债权人迫使它们以破产价格筹集资本而永久稀释股东。当然,负债的好处是它通常代表着廉价的资本,尤其是当它代替公司以高回报率再投资时的稀释时。考虑企业使用了多少负债后要做的第一件事是查看其现金和负债。
What Is Clean Energy Fuels's Net Debt?
Clean Energy Fuels的净债务是多少?
You can click the graphic below for the historical numbers, but it shows that as of March 2024 Clean Energy Fuels had US$262.0m of debt, an increase on US$144.9m, over one year. On the flip side, it has US$248.9m in cash leading to net debt of about US$13.1m.
您可以点击下面的图表查看历史数据,但它显示,截至2024年3月,Clean Energy Fuels有26200万美元的债务,较去年增加了14490万美元。但是,它拥有24890万美元的现金,因此净债务约为1310万美元。
How Strong Is Clean Energy Fuels' Balance Sheet?
Clean Energy Fuels的资产负债表有多强劲?
According to the last reported balance sheet, Clean Energy Fuels had liabilities of US$143.1m due within 12 months, and liabilities of US$363.4m due beyond 12 months. Offsetting this, it had US$248.9m in cash and US$115.8m in receivables that were due within 12 months. So it has liabilities totalling US$141.9m more than its cash and near-term receivables, combined.
根据最后披露的资产负债表,Clean Energy Fuels在12个月内有1.431亿美元的负债,超过12个月的负债为3.634亿美元。与此同时,它拥有24890万美元的现金和11580万美元的应收账款,这些应收账款在12个月内到期。因此,它的负债总计比其现金和短期应收账款低14190万美元。
While this might seem like a lot, it is not so bad since Clean Energy Fuels has a market capitalization of US$552.6m, and so it could probably strengthen its balance sheet by raising capital if it needed to. But we definitely want to keep our eyes open to indications that its debt is bringing too much risk. 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 Clean Energy Fuels'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.
虽然这听起来很多,但这并不算太糟糕,因为Clean Energy Fuels的市值达到了55260万美元,因此它可能通过增加资本来加强资产负债表。但是,我们绝对要着眼于表明其债务带来过多风险的迹象。当您分析债务时,资产负债表显然是需要关注的领域。但更重要的是,未来的收入,而不仅仅是财务状况,将决定Clean Energy Fuels维持健康资产负债表的能力。因此,如果您关注未来,可以查看这份显示分析师利润预测的免费报告。
In the last year Clean Energy Fuels had a loss before interest and tax, and actually shrunk its revenue by 15%, to US$397m. That's not what we would hope to see.
在过去一年中,Clean Energy Fuels的利润利息和税前亏损,并实际上收入下降了15%,至39700万美元。我们希望看到的不是这种情况。
Caveat Emptor
买方自负。
Not only did Clean Energy Fuels's revenue slip over the last twelve months, but it also produced negative earnings before interest and tax (EBIT). To be specific the EBIT loss came in at US$50m. When we look at that and recall the liabilities on its balance sheet, relative to cash, it seems unwise to us for the company to have any debt. Quite frankly we think the balance sheet is far from match-fit, although it could be improved with time. Another cause for caution is that is bled US$47m in negative free cash flow over the last twelve months. So in short it's a really risky stock. 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. These risks can be hard to spot. Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Clean Energy Fuels you should know about.
在过去的十二个月内,Clean Energy Fuels的收入不仅有所下降,而且还产生了利息和税前亏损(EBIT)。具体来说,EBIT亏损达到了5000万美元。当我们看到资产负债表上的负债相对于现金时,我们认为公司持有任何债务不明智。坦率地说,我们认为资产负债表远未做好准备,尽管它可以随着时间的推移得到改善。另一个值得警惕的原因是,在过去的十二个月中,它产生了4700万美元的负自由现金流。因此,简而言之,这是一只非常高风险的股票。分析债务时,资产负债表显然是需要关注的领域。但是,最终,除资产负债表以外,每家公司都可能存在风险。这些风险很难发现。每家公司都会有它们,我们发现Clean Energy Fuels存在1个警示标志,您应该知道。
When all is said and done, sometimes its easier to focus on companies that don't even need debt. Readers can access a list of growth stocks with zero net debt 100% free, right now.
说到底,有时候更容易集中精力关注根本不需要债务的公司。读者可以免费访问零净债务增长股票列表。
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