Agria Group Holding AD (BUL:A72) Has No Shortage Of Debt

Warren Buffett famously said, 'Volatility is far from synonymous with risk.' 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. We can see that Agria Group Holding AD (BUL:A72) does use debt in its business. But the real question is whether this debt is making the company risky.

Why Does Debt Bring Risk?

Debt and other liabilities become risky for a business when it cannot easily fulfill those obligations, either with free cash flow or by raising capital at an attractive price. In the worst case scenario, a company can go bankrupt if it cannot pay its creditors. 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. By replacing dilution, though, debt can be an extremely good tool for businesses that need capital to invest in growth at high rates of return. The first step when considering a company's debt levels is to consider its cash and debt together.

Check out our latest analysis for Agria Group Holding AD

What Is Agria Group Holding AD's Net Debt?

As you can see below, Agria Group Holding AD had лв172.1m of debt, at September 2020, which is about the same as the year before. You can click the chart for greater detail. However, because it has a cash reserve of лв8.01m, its net debt is less, at about лв164.1m.

How Strong Is Agria Group Holding AD's Balance Sheet?

According to the last reported balance sheet, Agria Group Holding AD had liabilities of лв153.2m due within 12 months, and liabilities of лв59.3m due beyond 12 months. Offsetting this, it had лв8.01m in cash and лв69.4m in receivables that were due within 12 months. So it has liabilities totalling лв135.1m more than its cash and near-term receivables, combined.

The deficiency here weighs heavily on the лв44.2m 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, Agria Group Holding AD would likely require a major re-capitalisation if it had to pay its creditors today.

In order to size up a company's debt relative to its earnings, we calculate its net debt divided by its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) and its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) divided by its interest expense (its interest cover). 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).

While Agria Group Holding AD's debt to EBITDA ratio of 6.1 suggests a heavy debt load, its interest coverage of 7.6 implies it services that debt with ease. Overall we'd say it seems likely the company is carrying a fairly heavy swag of debt. The bad news is that Agria Group Holding AD saw its EBIT decline by 14% over the last year. If earnings continue to decline at that rate then handling the debt will be more difficult than taking three children under 5 to a fancy pants restaurant. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. But it is future earnings, more than anything, that will determine Agria Group Holding AD'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 company can only pay off debt with cold hard cash, not accounting profits. So we clearly need to look at whether that EBIT is leading to corresponding free cash flow. Over the last three years, Agria Group Holding AD saw substantial negative free cash flow, in total. While investors are no doubt expecting a reversal of that situation in due course, it clearly does mean its use of debt is more risky.

Our View

On the face of it, Agria Group Holding AD's conversion of EBIT to free cash flow left us tentative about the stock, and its level of total liabilities was no more enticing than the one empty restaurant on the busiest night of the year. But at least it's pretty decent at covering its interest expense with its EBIT; that's encouraging. We think the chances that Agria Group Holding AD has too much debt a very significant. To us, that makes the stock rather risky, like walking through a dog park with your eyes closed. But some investors may feel differently. 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. For instance, we've identified 3 warning signs for Agria Group Holding AD (1 shouldn't be ignored) you should be aware of.

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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