We Think CBo Territoria Société Anonyme (EPA:CBOT) Is Taking Some Risk With Its Debt

The external fund manager backed by Berkshire Hathaway's Charlie Munger, Li Lu, makes no bones about it when he says 'The biggest investment risk is not the volatility of prices, but whether you will suffer a permanent loss of capital.' 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 the real question is whether this debt is making the company risky.

Why Does Debt Bring Risk?

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 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. 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 step when considering a company's debt levels is to consider its cash and debt together.

Check out our latest analysis for CBo Territoria Société Anonyme

How Much Debt Does CBo Territoria Société Anonyme Carry?

The image below, which you can click on for greater detail, shows that CBo Territoria Société Anonyme had debt of €220.0m at the end of June 2020, a reduction from €265.2m over a year. However, because it has a cash reserve of €26.1m, its net debt is less, at about €193.9m.

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

The latest balance sheet data shows that CBo Territoria Société Anonyme had liabilities of €50.6m due within a year, and liabilities of €243.2m falling due after that. Offsetting these obligations, it had cash of €26.1m as well as receivables valued at €28.4m due within 12 months. So its liabilities outweigh the sum of its cash and (near-term) receivables by €239.3m.

The deficiency here weighs heavily on the €125.0m 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'd watch its balance sheet closely, without a doubt. After all, CBo Territoria Société Anonyme would likely require a major re-capitalisation if it had to pay its creditors today.

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). This way, we consider both the absolute quantum of the debt, as well as the interest rates paid on it.

With a net debt to EBITDA ratio of 8.4, it's fair to say CBo Territoria Société Anonyme does have a significant amount of debt. But the good news is that it boasts fairly comforting interest cover of 3.6 times, suggesting it can responsibly service its obligations. On a slightly more positive note, CBo Territoria Société Anonyme grew its EBIT at 14% over the last year, further increasing its ability to manage debt. There's no doubt that we learn most about debt from the balance sheet. But it is future earnings, more than anything, that will determine CBo Territoria Société Anonyme'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 it's worth checking how much of that EBIT is backed by free cash flow. Over the most recent three years, CBo Territoria Société Anonyme recorded free cash flow worth 79% of its EBIT, which is around normal, given free cash flow excludes interest and tax. This free cash flow puts the company in a good position to pay down debt, when appropriate.

Our View

To be frank both CBo Territoria Société Anonyme's net debt to EBITDA and its track record of staying on top of its total liabilities make us rather uncomfortable with its debt levels. But on the bright side, its conversion of EBIT to free cash flow is a good sign, and makes us more optimistic. 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. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but we'd generally feel more comfortable with less leverage. The balance sheet is clearly the area to focus on when you are analysing debt. However, not all investment risk resides within the balance sheet - far from it. Take risks, for example - CBo Territoria Société Anonyme has 2 warning signs (and 1 which can't be ignored) we think 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.

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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.
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