elumeo (ETR:ELB) Has Debt But No Earnings; Should You Worry?

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, elumeo SE (ETR:ELB) does carry debt. But is this debt a concern to shareholders?

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. 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. 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 elumeo

What Is elumeo's Net Debt?

The image below, which you can click on for greater detail, shows that at June 2024 elumeo had debt of €1.84m, up from none in one year. However, because it has a cash reserve of €1.07m, its net debt is less, at about €768.0k.

How Strong Is elumeo's Balance Sheet?

We can see from the most recent balance sheet that elumeo had liabilities of €14.0m falling due within a year, and liabilities of €2.22m due beyond that. Offsetting this, it had €1.07m in cash and €3.63m in receivables that were due within 12 months. So its liabilities total €11.5m more than the combination of its cash and short-term receivables.

When you consider that this deficiency exceeds the company's €10.6m market capitalization, you might well be inclined to review the balance sheet intently. Hypothetically, extremely heavy dilution would be required if the company were forced to pay down its liabilities by raising capital at the current share price. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. But it is future earnings, more than anything, that will determine elumeo'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.

Over 12 months, elumeo reported revenue of €46m, which is a gain of 2.1%, although it did not report any earnings before interest and tax. That rate of growth is a bit slow for our taste, but it takes all types to make a world.

Caveat Emptor

Importantly, elumeo had an earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) loss over the last year. Indeed, it lost a very considerable €3.3m at the EBIT level. Considering that alongside the liabilities mentioned above make us nervous about the company. It would need to improve its operations quickly for us to be interested in it. Not least because it burned through €76k in negative free cash flow over the last year. So suffice it to say we consider the stock to be risky. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. However, not all investment risk resides within the balance sheet - far from it. For instance, we've identified 1 warning sign for elumeo that you should be aware of.

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.

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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.