We Think Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT) Can Stay On Top Of Its Debt
We Think Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT) Can Stay On Top Of Its Debt
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.' 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 Novanta Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVT) makes use of debt. But is this debt a concern to shareholders?
傳奇基金經理李露(由查理·芒格支持)曾經說過:「最大的投資風險不是價格的波動,而是你是否會遭受永久的資本損失。」當我們思考一家公司的風險有多大時,我們總是喜歡考慮其債務的用途,因爲債務過載可能導致破產。與許多其他公司一樣,Novanta Inc.(納斯達克股票代碼:NOVT)也使用債務。但是這筆債務是股東關心的問題嗎?
Why Does Debt Bring Risk?
爲什麼債務會帶來風險?
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. Part and parcel of capitalism is the process of 'creative destruction' where failed businesses are mercilessly liquidated by their bankers. However, a more usual (but still expensive) situation is where a company must dilute shareholders at a cheap share price simply to get debt under control. Having said that, the most common situation is where a company manages its debt reasonably well - and to its own advantage. The first thing to do when considering how much debt a business uses is to look at its cash and debt together.
當企業無法通過自由現金流或以誘人的價格籌集資金來輕鬆履行這些義務時,債務和其他負債就會變得有風險。資本主義的重要組成部分是 「創造性破壞」 過程,在這種過程中,倒閉的企業被銀行家無情地清算。但是,更常見(但仍然昂貴)的情況是,公司必須以低廉的股價稀釋股東才能控制債務。話雖如此,最常見的情況是公司合理地很好地管理債務,而且有利於自己的利益。在考慮企業使用多少債務時,要做的第一件事就是綜合考慮其現金和債務。
How Much Debt Does Novanta Carry?
Novanta 揹負了多少債務?
You can click the graphic below for the historical numbers, but it shows that as of June 2024 Novanta had US$481.9m of debt, an increase on US$408.5m, over one year. However, it does have US$98.5m in cash offsetting this, leading to net debt of about US$383.5m.
你可以點擊下圖查看歷史數字,但它顯示,截至2024年6月,Novanta在一年內有4.819億美元的債務,比4.085億美元有所增加。但是,它確實有9,850萬美元的現金抵消了這一點,淨負債約爲3.835億美元。
How Healthy Is Novanta's Balance Sheet?
Novanta 的資產負債表有多健康?
We can see from the most recent balance sheet that Novanta had liabilities of US$153.5m falling due within a year, and liabilities of US$543.1m due beyond that. On the other hand, it had cash of US$98.5m and US$145.0m worth of receivables due within a year. So its liabilities total US$453.1m 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出,Novanta的負債爲1.535億美元,一年後到期的負債爲5.431億美元。另一方面,它有9,850萬美元的現金和價值1.45億美元的應收賬款將在一年內到期。因此,其負債總額比其現金和短期應收賬款的總和高出4.531億美元。
Of course, Novanta has a market capitalization of US$6.58b, so these liabilities are probably manageable. However, we do think it is worth keeping an eye on its balance sheet strength, as it may change over time.
當然,Novanta的市值爲65.8億美元,因此這些負債可能是可以控制的。但是,我們確實認爲值得關注其資產負債表的實力,因爲它可能會隨着時間的推移而發生變化。
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). Thus we consider debt relative to earnings both with and without depreciation and amortization expenses.
我們通過以下方法來衡量公司的債務負擔與其盈利能力:將其淨負債除以利息、稅項、折舊和攤銷前的收益(EBITDA),並計算其利息和稅前收益(EBIT)支付利息支出(利息保障)的難易程度。因此,我們將債務與收益的關係考慮在內,包括和不包括折舊和攤銷費用。
Novanta has net debt worth 2.4 times EBITDA, which isn't too much, but its interest cover looks a bit on the low side, with EBIT at only 3.8 times the interest expense. While that doesn't worry us too much, it does suggest the interest payments are somewhat of a burden. Unfortunately, Novanta saw its EBIT slide 8.1% in the last twelve months. If that earnings trend continues then its debt load will grow heavy like the heart of a polar bear watching its sole cub. 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 Novanta 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.
Novanta的淨負債價值是息稅折舊攤銷前利潤的2.4倍,這並不算多,但其利息保障範圍看起來有點偏低,息稅前利潤僅爲利息支出的3.8倍。儘管這並不讓我們太擔心,但這確實表明利息的支付有些負擔。不幸的是,在過去的十二個月中,Novanta的息稅前利潤下降了8.1%。如果這種盈利趨勢持續下去,那麼它的債務負擔將變得沉重,就像北極熊看着它唯一的幼崽一樣。資產負債表顯然是分析債務時需要關注的領域。但最終,該業務的未來盈利能力將決定Novanta能否隨着時間的推移加強其資產負債表。因此,如果您專注於未來,可以查看這份顯示分析師利潤預測的免費報告。
Finally, while the tax-man may adore accounting profits, lenders only accept cold hard cash. So we clearly need to look at whether that EBIT is leading to corresponding free cash flow. Over the last three years, Novanta recorded free cash flow worth a fulsome 80% of its EBIT, which is stronger than we'd usually expect. That puts it in a very strong position to pay down debt.
最後,儘管稅務人員可能喜歡會計利潤,但貸款人只接受冷硬現金。因此,我們顯然需要研究該息稅前利潤是否會帶來相應的自由現金流。在過去的三年中,Novanta記錄的自由現金流相當於其息稅前利潤的80%,比我們通常預期的要強。這使其在償還債務方面處於非常有利的地位。
Our View
我們的觀點
When it comes to the balance sheet, the standout positive for Novanta was the fact that it seems able to convert EBIT to free cash flow confidently. However, our other observations weren't so heartening. For instance it seems like it has to struggle a bit to grow its EBIT. Considering this range of data points, we think Novanta is in a good position to manage its debt levels. But a word of caution: we think debt levels are high enough to justify ongoing monitoring. There's no doubt that we learn most about debt from the balance sheet. But ultimately, every company can contain risks that exist outside of the balance sheet. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for Novanta you should be aware of.
在資產負債表方面,對Novanta來說,最大的積極因素是它似乎能夠自信地將息稅前利潤轉換爲自由現金流。但是,我們的其他觀察結果並不那麼令人鼓舞。例如,它似乎必須努力才能增加其息稅前利潤。考慮到這一系列數據點,我們認爲Novanta完全有能力管理其債務水平。但要謹慎一點:我們認爲債務水平足夠高,足以證明持續監測是合理的。毫無疑問,我們從資產負債表中學到的關於債務的知識最多。但歸根結底,每家公司都可以控制資產負債表之外存在的風險。一個很好的例子:我們發現了你應該注意的Novanta的1個警告標誌。
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.
如果你有興趣投資能夠在沒有債務負擔的情況下增加利潤的企業,請查看這份資產負債表上有淨現金的成長型企業的免費清單。
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Simply Wall St的這篇文章本質上是籠統的。我們僅使用公正的方法根據歷史數據和分析師的預測提供評論,我們的文章無意作爲財務建議。它不構成買入或賣出任何股票的建議,也沒有考慮到您的目標或財務狀況。我們的目標是爲您提供由基本數據驅動的長期重點分析。請注意,我們的分析可能不考慮最新的價格敏感型公司公告或定性材料。簡而言之,華爾街沒有持有任何上述股票的頭寸。