Stock Analysis

Is Barry Callebaut (VTX:BARN) Using Too Much Debt?

SWX:BARN
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Legendary fund manager Li Lu (who Charlie Munger backed) once said, 'The biggest investment risk is not the volatility of prices, but whether you will suffer a permanent loss of capital.' When we think about how risky a company is, we always like to look at its use of debt, since debt overload can lead to ruin. We can see that Barry Callebaut AG (VTX:BARN) does use debt in its business. But the more important question is: how much risk is that debt creating?

When Is Debt Dangerous?

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. 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 thing to do when considering how much debt a business uses is to look at its cash and debt together.

Check out our latest analysis for Barry Callebaut

What Is Barry Callebaut's Debt?

You can click the graphic below for the historical numbers, but it shows that as of February 2021 Barry Callebaut had CHF2.41b of debt, an increase on CHF1.95b, over one year. However, because it has a cash reserve of CHF870.0m, its net debt is less, at about CHF1.54b.

debt-equity-history-analysis
SWX:BARN Debt to Equity History August 5th 2021

How Healthy Is Barry Callebaut's Balance Sheet?

Zooming in on the latest balance sheet data, we can see that Barry Callebaut had liabilities of CHF2.47b due within 12 months and liabilities of CHF2.48b due beyond that. Offsetting these obligations, it had cash of CHF870.0m as well as receivables valued at CHF826.0m due within 12 months. So its liabilities total CHF3.26b more than the combination of its cash and short-term receivables.

Barry Callebaut has a very large market capitalization of CHF12.7b, so it could very likely raise cash to ameliorate its balance sheet, if the need arose. However, it is still worthwhile taking a close look at its ability to pay off debt.

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). Thus we consider debt relative to earnings both with and without depreciation and amortization expenses.

Barry Callebaut has net debt worth 2.5 times EBITDA, which isn't too much, but its interest cover looks a bit on the low side, with EBIT at only 5.4 times the interest expense. While that doesn't worry us too much, it does suggest the interest payments are somewhat of a burden. Shareholders should be aware that Barry Callebaut's EBIT was down 21% last year. If that earnings trend continues then paying off its debt will be about as easy as herding cats on to a roller coaster. The balance sheet is clearly the area to focus on when you are analysing debt. But it is future earnings, more than anything, that will determine Barry Callebaut's ability to maintain a healthy balance sheet going forward. So if you're focused on the future you can check out this free report showing analyst profit forecasts.

But our final consideration is also important, because a company cannot pay debt with paper profits; it needs cold hard cash. So we clearly need to look at whether that EBIT is leading to corresponding free cash flow. Looking at the most recent three years, Barry Callebaut recorded free cash flow of 41% of its EBIT, which is weaker than we'd expect. That's not great, when it comes to paying down debt.

Our View

Barry Callebaut's struggle to grow its EBIT had us second guessing its balance sheet strength, but the other data-points we considered were relatively redeeming. For example, its interest cover is relatively strong. Taking the abovementioned factors together we do think Barry Callebaut's debt poses some risks to the business. While that debt can boost returns, we think the company has enough leverage now. 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. To that end, you should be aware of the 1 warning sign we've spotted with Barry Callebaut .

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.

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