Does Hainan Airport Infrastructure (SHSE:600515) Have A Healthy Balance Sheet?

David Iben put it well when he said, 'Volatility is not a risk we care about. What we care about is avoiding the 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 Hainan Airport Infrastructure Co., Ltd (SHSE:600515) does use debt in its business. 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. If things get really bad, the lenders can take control of the business. However, a more common (but still painful) scenario is that it has to raise new equity capital at a low price, thus permanently diluting shareholders. Of course, debt can be an important tool in businesses, particularly capital heavy businesses. The first step when considering a company's debt levels is to consider its cash and debt together.

See our latest analysis for Hainan Airport Infrastructure

How Much Debt Does Hainan Airport Infrastructure Carry?

You can click the graphic below for the historical numbers, but it shows that Hainan Airport Infrastructure had CN¥17.4b of debt in September 2024, down from CN¥19.1b, one year before. On the flip side, it has CN¥5.80b in cash leading to net debt of about CN¥11.6b.

A Look At Hainan Airport Infrastructure's Liabilities

According to the last reported balance sheet, Hainan Airport Infrastructure had liabilities of CN¥9.31b due within 12 months, and liabilities of CN¥19.6b due beyond 12 months. On the other hand, it had cash of CN¥5.80b and CN¥1.96b worth of receivables due within a year. So its liabilities outweigh the sum of its cash and (near-term) receivables by CN¥21.1b.

Hainan Airport Infrastructure has a market capitalization of CN¥43.3b, 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.

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

Hainan Airport Infrastructure has a rather high debt to EBITDA ratio of 7.7 which suggests a meaningful debt load. However, its interest coverage of 2.9 is reasonably strong, which is a good sign. Investors should also be troubled by the fact that Hainan Airport Infrastructure saw its EBIT drop by 12% over the last twelve months. If that's the way things keep going handling the debt load will be like delivering hot coffees on a pogo stick. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. But it is future earnings, more than anything, that will determine Hainan Airport Infrastructure'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, while the tax-man may adore accounting profits, lenders only accept cold hard cash. So the logical step is to look at the proportion of that EBIT that is matched by actual free cash flow. Over the last three years, Hainan Airport Infrastructure 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, Hainan Airport Infrastructure's net debt to EBITDA left us tentative about the stock, and its conversion of EBIT to free cash flow was no more enticing than the one empty restaurant on the busiest night of the year. But at least its level of total liabilities is not so bad. We're quite clear that we consider Hainan Airport Infrastructure to be really rather risky, as a result of its balance sheet health. So we're almost as wary of this stock as a hungry kitten is about falling into its owner's fish pond: once bitten, twice shy, as they say. 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. Be aware that Hainan Airport Infrastructure is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 1 of those doesn't sit too well with us...

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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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.