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. So it might be obvious that you need to consider debt, when you think about how risky any given stock is, because too much debt can sink a company. As with many other companies Turbon AG (FRA:TUR) makes use of debt. But the real question is whether this debt is making the company risky.
When Is Debt A Problem?
Debt assists a business until the business has trouble paying it off, either with new capital or with free cash flow. In the worst case scenario, a company can go bankrupt if it cannot pay its creditors. 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. Of course, plenty of companies use debt to fund growth, without any negative consequences. The first step when considering a company’s debt levels is to consider its cash and debt together.
See our latest analysis for Turbon
What Is Turbon’s Net Debt?
The image below, which you can click on for greater detail, shows that Turbon had debt of €6.96m at the end of June 2019, a reduction from €9.13m over a year. However, it also had €1.04m in cash, and so its net debt is €5.91m.
How Healthy Is Turbon’s Balance Sheet?
Zooming in on the latest balance sheet data, we can see that Turbon had liabilities of €17.4m due within 12 months and liabilities of €14.8m due beyond that. Offsetting these obligations, it had cash of €1.04m as well as receivables valued at €7.00m due within 12 months. So its liabilities total €24.2m more than the combination of its cash and short-term receivables.
The deficiency here weighs heavily on the €9.62m 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’d watch its balance sheet closely, without a doubt. After all, Turbon would likely require a major re-capitalisation if it had to pay its creditors today.
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).
Turbon has net debt worth 1.6 times EBITDA, which isn’t too much, but its interest cover looks a bit on the low side, with EBIT at only 2.5 times the interest expense. It seems that the business incurs large depreciation and amortisation charges, so maybe its debt load is heavier than it would first appear, since EBITDA is arguably a generous measure of earnings. Pleasingly, Turbon is growing its EBIT faster than former Australian PM Bob Hawke downs a yard glass, boasting a 608% gain in the last twelve months. There’s no doubt that we learn most about debt from the balance sheet. But it is Turbon’s earnings that will influence how the balance sheet holds up in the future. So when considering debt, it’s definitely worth looking at the earnings trend. Click here for an interactive snapshot.
Finally, a company can only pay off debt with cold hard cash, not accounting profits. So we always check how much of that EBIT is translated into free cash flow. Happily for any shareholders, Turbon actually produced more free cash flow than EBIT over the last three years. There’s nothing better than incoming cash when it comes to staying in your lenders’ good graces.
Our View
We feel some trepidation about Turbon’s difficulty level of total liabilities, but we’ve got positives to focus on, too. For example, its conversion of EBIT to free cash flow and EBIT growth rate give us some confidence in its ability to manage its debt. We think that Turbon’s debt does make it a bit risky, after considering the aforementioned data points together. Not all risk is bad, as it can boost share price returns if it pays off, but this debt risk is worth keeping in mind. The balance sheet is clearly the area to focus on when you are analysing debt. But ultimately, every company can contain risks that exist outside of the balance sheet. Take risks, for example – Turbon has 3 warning signs (and 2 which are concerning) we think you should know about.
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.
If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.
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