Bausch Health’s Debt Reduction Strategy

Bausch Health (BHC) reported less than $25 billion total debt on its balance sheet as of November 6, almost $7.4 billion lower than that reported by the company in the first quarter of 2016. According to the company’s third-quarter earnings conference call, Bausch Health repaid more than $360 million of debt from cash generated from its operations in the third quarter. According to the company’s third-quarter earnings presentation, it also redeemed $125 million worth of high coupon notes from October 1 to November 6. The company reported cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash worth $973 million at the end of the third quarter.

According to the company’s third-quarter earnings presentation, almost 80% of the total debt on Bausch Health’s balance sheet was fixed rate debt, while the remaining 20% was secured floating debt.

In its third-quarter earnings presentation, Bausch Health forecasted the total interest expense for fiscal 2018 of around $1.68 billion. Wall Street analysts expect Bausch Health to report interest expenses of $1.67 billion in fiscal 2018, a YoY decline of 9.10%. The company is also expected to report interest expenses of $1.60 billion in fiscal 2019, a YoY decline of 4.07%. Wall Street analysts have also forecasted Bausch Health’s fiscal 2020 interest expense to be $1.56 billion, a YoY decline of 2.84%.

Wall Street analysts have also projected Bausch Health’s interest expense to be close to $418.93 million in the fourth quarter, a YoY decline of 6.49%.

In the third quarter, the company reported interest expenses of $420 million, which was $39 million lower on a YoY basis. The average debt in the third quarter was also lower by around $2.4 billion on a YoY basis.

In the next article, we’ll discuss cash flow trends for Bausch Health in greater detail.