Bodycote's net debt is only 0.67 times its EBITDA. And its EBIT covers its interest expense a whopping 17.5 times over. So we're pretty relaxed about its super-conservative use of debt. But the bad news is that Bodycote has seen its EBIT plunge 12% in the last twelve months. We think hat kind of performance, if repeated frequently, could well lead to difficulties for the stock. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. But it is future earnings, more than anything, that will determine Bodycote'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.