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.' 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 Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure plc (NASDAQ:AY) makes use of debt. But the more important question is: how much risk is that debt creating?

What Risk Does Debt Bring?

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. However, a more frequent (but still costly) occurrence is where a company must issue shares at bargain-basement prices, permanently diluting shareholders, just to shore up its balance sheet. Of course, plenty of companies use debt to fund growth, without any negative consequences. The first thing to do when considering how much debt a business uses is to look at its cash and debt together.

What Is Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure's Net Debt?

As you can see below, Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure had US$5.43b of debt, at December 2023, which is about the same as the year before. You can click the chart for greater detail. However, it also had US$448.3m in cash, and so its net debt is US$4.98b.

How Healthy Is Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure's Balance Sheet?

The latest balance sheet data shows that Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure had liabilities of US$607.8m due within a year, and liabilities of US$6.52b falling due after that. On the other hand, it had cash of US$448.3m and US$273.8m worth of receivables due within a year. So it has liabilities totalling US$6.40b more than its cash and near-term receivables, combined.

The deficiency here weighs heavily on the US$2.15b company itself, as if a child were struggling under the weight of an enormous back-pack full of books, his sports gear, and a trumpet. So we definitely think shareholders need to watch this one closely. At the end of the day, Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure would probably need a major re-capitalization if its creditors were to demand repayment.

We use two main ratios to inform us about debt levels relative to earnings. The first is net debt divided by earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA), while the second is how many times its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) covers its interest expense (or its interest cover, for short). 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).

Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure shareholders face the double whammy of a high net debt to EBITDA ratio (7.3), and fairly weak interest coverage, since EBIT is just 0.81 times the interest expense. The debt burden here is substantial. Fortunately, Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure grew its EBIT by 5.6% in the last year, slowly shrinking its debt relative to earnings. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. But it is future earnings, more than anything, that will determine Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure's ability to maintain a healthy balance sheet going forward. 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 last three years, Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure actually produced more free cash flow than EBIT. There's nothing better than incoming cash when it comes to staying in your lenders' good graces.

Our View

To be frank both Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure's interest cover and its track record of staying on top of its total liabilities make us rather uncomfortable with its debt levels. But at least it's pretty decent at converting EBIT to free cash flow; that's encouraging. Looking at the bigger picture, it seems clear to us that Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure's use of debt is creating risks for the company. If all goes well, that should boost returns, but on the flip side, the risk of permanent capital loss is elevated by the debt. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. 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 3 warning signs for Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure (of which 1 is concerning!) you should know about.

If, after all that, you're more interested in a fast growing company with a rock-solid balance sheet, then check out our list of net cash growth stocks without delay.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.