We Think Safestyle UK (LON:SFE) 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 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. As with many other companies Safestyle UK plc (LON:SFE) makes use of debt. 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. Part and parcel of capitalism is the process of 'creative destruction' where failed businesses are mercilessly liquidated by their bankers. 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. 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 the opportunities and risks within the GB Building industry.

What Is Safestyle UK's Debt?

As you can see below, Safestyle UK had UK£4.31m of debt, at July 2022, which is about the same as the year before. You can click the chart for greater detail. But on the other hand it also has UK£17.3m in cash, leading to a UK£13.0m net cash position.

A Look At Safestyle UK's Liabilities

Zooming in on the latest balance sheet data, we can see that Safestyle UK had liabilities of UK£29.2m due within 12 months and liabilities of UK£13.0m due beyond that. Offsetting this, it had UK£17.3m in cash and UK£6.99m in receivables that were due within 12 months. So its liabilities total UK£18.0m more than the combination of its cash and short-term receivables.

While this might seem like a lot, it is not so bad since Safestyle UK has a market capitalization of UK£36.8m, and so it could probably strengthen its balance sheet by raising capital if it needed to. But it's clear that we should definitely closely examine whether it can manage its debt without dilution. While it does have liabilities worth noting, Safestyle UK also has more cash than debt, so we're pretty confident it can manage its debt safely.

Shareholders should be aware that Safestyle UK's EBIT was down 59% 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. 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 Safestyle UK'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, a company can only pay off debt with cold hard cash, not accounting profits. While Safestyle UK has net cash on its balance sheet, it's still worth taking a look at its ability to convert earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) to free cash flow, to help us understand how quickly it is building (or eroding) that cash balance. Happily for any shareholders, Safestyle UK actually produced more free cash flow than EBIT over the last two years. There's nothing better than incoming cash when it comes to staying in your lenders' good graces.

Summing Up

While Safestyle UK does have more liabilities than liquid assets, it also has net cash of UK£13.0m. The cherry on top was that in converted 192% of that EBIT to free cash flow, bringing in UK£2.5m. So while Safestyle UK does not have a great balance sheet, it's certainly not too bad. 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. We've identified 2 warning signs with Safestyle UK , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

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.

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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.