Does Grupo SBF (BVMF:SBFG3) Have A Healthy Balance Sheet?

Some say volatility, rather than debt, is the best way to think about risk as an investor, but Warren Buffett famously said that 'Volatility is far from synonymous with risk.' So it seems the smart money knows that debt - which is usually involved in bankruptcies - is a very important factor, when you assess how risky a company is. As with many other companies Grupo SBF S.A. (BVMF:SBFG3) makes use of debt. But should shareholders be worried about its use of debt?

What Risk Does Debt Bring?

Debt is a tool to help businesses grow, but if a business is incapable of paying off its lenders, then it exists at their mercy. Ultimately, if the company can't fulfill its legal obligations to repay debt, shareholders could walk away with nothing. 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. When we think about a company's use of debt, we first look at cash and debt together.

Check out our latest analysis for Grupo SBF

What Is Grupo SBF's Net Debt?

You can click the graphic below for the historical numbers, but it shows that as of March 2022 Grupo SBF had R$847.7m of debt, an increase on R$612.0m, over one year. However, it does have R$361.2m in cash offsetting this, leading to net debt of about R$486.5m.

A Look At Grupo SBF's Liabilities

According to the last reported balance sheet, Grupo SBF had liabilities of R$1.89b due within 12 months, and liabilities of R$3.04b due beyond 12 months. On the other hand, it had cash of R$361.2m and R$1.85b worth of receivables due within a year. So its liabilities total R$2.72b more than the combination of its cash and short-term receivables.

While this might seem like a lot, it is not so bad since Grupo SBF has a market capitalization of R$4.56b, and so it could probably strengthen its balance sheet by raising capital if it needed to. But we definitely want to keep our eyes open to indications that its debt is bringing too much risk.

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). This way, we consider both the absolute quantum of the debt, as well as the interest rates paid on it.

Given net debt is only 0.74 times EBITDA, it is initially surprising to see that Grupo SBF's EBIT has low interest coverage of 2.4 times. So while we're not necessarily alarmed we think that its debt is far from trivial. Notably, Grupo SBF made a loss at the EBIT level, last year, but improved that to positive EBIT of R$564m in the last twelve months. There's no doubt that we learn most about debt from the balance sheet. But ultimately the future profitability of the business will decide if Grupo SBF can strengthen its balance sheet over time. So if you're focused on the future you can check out this free report showing analyst profit forecasts.

Finally, a company can only pay off debt with cold hard cash, not accounting profits. So it is important to check how much of its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) converts to actual free cash flow. In the last year, Grupo SBF created free cash flow amounting to 6.8% of its EBIT, an uninspiring performance. For us, cash conversion that low sparks a little paranoia about is ability to extinguish debt.

Our View

To be frank both Grupo SBF's conversion of EBIT to free cash flow and its track record of covering its interest expense with its EBIT make us rather uncomfortable with its debt levels. But at least it's pretty decent at managing its debt, based on its EBITDA,; that's encouraging. Looking at the balance sheet and taking into account all these factors, we do believe that debt is making Grupo SBF stock a bit risky. Some people like that sort of risk, but we're mindful of the potential pitfalls, so we'd probably prefer it carry less debt. There's no doubt that we learn most about debt from the balance sheet. However, not all investment risk resides within the balance sheet - far from it. Case in point: We've spotted 3 warning signs for Grupo SBF you should be aware of, and 2 of them don't sit too well with us.

Of course, if you're the type of investor who prefers buying stocks without the burden of debt, then don't hesitate to discover our exclusive list of net cash growth stocks, today.

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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.