Does CSU Cardsystem (BVMF:CARD3) 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. Importantly, CSU Cardsystem S.A. (BVMF:CARD3) does carry debt. But the more important question is: how much risk is that debt creating?

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. If things get really bad, the lenders can take control of the business. However, a more frequent (but still costly) occurrence is where a company must issue shares at bargain-basement prices, permanently diluting shareholders, just to shore up its balance sheet. Of course, the upside of debt is that it often represents cheap capital, especially when it replaces dilution in a company with the ability to reinvest at high rates of return. When we think about a company's use of debt, we first look at cash and debt together.

Check out our latest analysis for CSU Cardsystem

How Much Debt Does CSU Cardsystem Carry?

The image below, which you can click on for greater detail, shows that CSU Cardsystem had debt of R$39.1m at the end of June 2021, a reduction from R$50.3m over a year. But it also has R$80.7m in cash to offset that, meaning it has R$41.7m net cash.

How Healthy Is CSU Cardsystem's Balance Sheet?

We can see from the most recent balance sheet that CSU Cardsystem had liabilities of R$138.7m falling due within a year, and liabilities of R$90.4m due beyond that. Offsetting this, it had R$80.7m in cash and R$65.7m in receivables that were due within 12 months. So its liabilities outweigh the sum of its cash and (near-term) receivables by R$82.7m.

Since publicly traded CSU Cardsystem shares are worth a total of R$760.1m, it seems unlikely that this level of liabilities would be a major threat. But there are sufficient liabilities that we would certainly recommend shareholders continue to monitor the balance sheet, going forward. Despite its noteworthy liabilities, CSU Cardsystem boasts net cash, so it's fair to say it does not have a heavy debt load!

On top of that, CSU Cardsystem grew its EBIT by 53% over the last twelve months, and that growth will make it easier to handle its debt. The balance sheet is clearly the area to focus on when you are analysing debt. But it is CSU Cardsystem's earnings that will influence how the balance sheet holds up in the future. So if you're keen to discover more about its earnings, it might be worth checking out this graph of its long term earnings trend.

Finally, a company can only pay off debt with cold hard cash, not accounting profits. CSU Cardsystem may have net cash on the balance sheet, but it is still interesting to look at how well the business converts its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) to free cash flow, because that will influence both its need for, and its capacity to manage debt. Over the last three years, CSU Cardsystem recorded free cash flow worth a fulsome 90% of its EBIT, which is stronger than we'd usually expect. That positions it well to pay down debt if desirable to do so.

Summing up

While CSU Cardsystem does have more liabilities than liquid assets, it also has net cash of R$41.7m. The cherry on top was that in converted 90% of that EBIT to free cash flow, bringing in R$68m. So is CSU Cardsystem's debt a risk? It doesn't seem so to us. There's no doubt that we learn most about debt from the balance sheet. But ultimately, every company can contain risks that exist outside of the balance sheet. Be aware that CSU Cardsystem is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis , you should know about...

At the end of the day, it's often better to focus on companies that are free from net debt. You can access our special list of such companies (all with a track record of profit growth). It's free.

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.

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