Does CBo Territoria Société Anonyme (EPA:CBOT) Have A Healthy Balance Sheet?

Warren Buffett famously said, 'Volatility is far from synonymous with risk.' So it might be obvious that you need to consider debt, when you think about how risky any given stock is, because too much debt can sink a company. We note that CBo Territoria Société Anonyme (EPA:CBOT) does have debt on its balance sheet. But is this debt a concern to shareholders?

What Risk Does Debt Bring?

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. 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, debt can be an important tool in businesses, particularly capital heavy businesses. The first thing to do when considering how much debt a business uses is to look at its cash and debt together.

See our latest analysis for CBo Territoria Société Anonyme

What Is CBo Territoria Société Anonyme's Debt?

As you can see below, CBo Territoria Société Anonyme had €224.7m of debt at December 2020, down from €237.5m a year prior. However, it does have €44.6m in cash offsetting this, leading to net debt of about €180.1m.

How Strong Is CBo Territoria Société Anonyme's Balance Sheet?

Zooming in on the latest balance sheet data, we can see that CBo Territoria Société Anonyme had liabilities of €53.7m due within 12 months and liabilities of €240.6m due beyond that. On the other hand, it had cash of €44.6m and €24.9m worth of receivables due within a year. So it has liabilities totalling €224.8m more than its cash and near-term receivables, combined.

The deficiency here weighs heavily on the €136.1m company itself, as if a child were struggling under the weight of an enormous back-pack full of books, his sports gear, and a trumpet. So we definitely think shareholders need to watch this one closely. At the end of the day, CBo Territoria Société Anonyme would probably need a major re-capitalization if its creditors were to demand repayment.

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). The advantage of this approach is that we take into account both the absolute quantum of debt (with net debt to EBITDA) and the actual interest expenses associated with that debt (with its interest cover ratio).

CBo Territoria Société Anonyme has a rather high debt to EBITDA ratio of 7.4 which suggests a meaningful debt load. But the good news is that it boasts fairly comforting interest cover of 4.0 times, suggesting it can responsibly service its obligations. Fortunately, CBo Territoria Société Anonyme grew its EBIT by 4.5% in the last year, slowly shrinking its debt relative to earnings. 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 CBo Territoria Société Anonyme 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 we always check how much of that EBIT is translated into free cash flow. Over the last three years, CBo Territoria Société Anonyme actually produced more free cash flow than EBIT. There's nothing better than incoming cash when it comes to staying in your lenders' good graces.

Our View

On the face of it, CBo Territoria Société Anonyme's net debt to EBITDA left us tentative about the stock, and its level of total liabilities was no more enticing than the one empty restaurant on the busiest night of the year. But at least it's pretty decent at converting EBIT to free cash flow; that's encouraging. Looking at the balance sheet and taking into account all these factors, we do believe that debt is making CBo Territoria Société Anonyme 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. 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. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for CBo Territoria Société Anonyme you should be aware of, and 1 of them doesn'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.

If you’re looking to trade CBo Territoria Société Anonyme, open an account with the lowest-cost* platform trusted by professionals, Interactive Brokers. Their clients from over 200 countries and territories trade stocks, options, futures, forex, bonds and funds worldwide from a single integrated account. Promoted

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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.
^*Interactive Brokers Rated Lowest Cost Broker by StockBrokers.com Annual Online Review 2020

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.