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.' 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. Importantly, Arcadis NV (AMS:ARCAD) does carry debt. But should shareholders be worried about its use of debt?

Generally speaking, debt only becomes a real problem when a company can't easily pay it off, either by raising capital or with its own cash flow. Ultimately, if the company can't fulfill its legal obligations to repay debt, shareholders could walk away with nothing. 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. When we think about a company's use of debt, we first look at cash and debt together.

See our latest analysis for Arcadis

The image below, which you can click on for greater detail, shows that Arcadis had debt of €263.7m at the end of December 2021, a reduction from €501.2m over a year. But it also has €351.0m in cash to offset that, meaning it has €87.3m net cash.

The latest balance sheet data shows that Arcadis had liabilities of €1.20b due within a year, and liabilities of €512.9m falling due after that. Offsetting this, it had €351.0m in cash and €1.07b in receivables that were due within 12 months. So it has liabilities totalling €297.8m more than its cash and near-term receivables, combined.

Since publicly traded Arcadis shares are worth a total of €3.37b, it seems unlikely that this level of liabilities would be a major threat. However, we do think it is worth keeping an eye on its balance sheet strength, as it may change over time. Despite its noteworthy liabilities, Arcadis boasts net cash, so it's fair to say it does not have a heavy debt load!

Also good is that Arcadis grew its EBIT at 19% over the last year, further increasing its ability to manage debt. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. But it is future earnings, more than anything, that will determine Arcadis'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. While Arcadis has net cash on its balance sheet, it's still worth taking a look at its ability to convert earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) to free cash flow, to help us understand how quickly it is building (or eroding) that cash balance. Happily for any shareholders, Arcadis actually produced more free cash flow than EBIT over the last three years. That sort of strong cash generation warms our hearts like a puppy in a bumblebee suit.

While it is always sensible to look at a company's total liabilities, it is very reassuring that Arcadis has €87.3m in net cash. And it impressed us with free cash flow of €295m, being 141% of its EBIT. So we don't think Arcadis's use of debt is risky. Over time, share prices tend to follow earnings per share, so if you're interested in Arcadis, you may well want to click here to check an interactive graph of its earnings per share history.

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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com. 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.

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