We Think Pizu Group Holdings (HKG:8053) Can Stay On Top Of Its Debt

Legendary fund manager Li Lu (who Charlie Munger backed) once said, '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. Importantly, Pizu Group Holdings Limited (HKG:8053) does carry debt. But is this debt a concern to shareholders?

What Risk Does Debt Bring?

Generally speaking, debt only becomes a real problem when a company can't easily pay it off, either by raising capital or with its own 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 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. Of course, the upside of debt is that it often represents cheap capital, especially when it replaces dilution in a company with the ability to reinvest at high rates of return. When we examine debt levels, we first consider both cash and debt levels, together.

Our analysis indicates that 8053 is potentially undervalued!

How Much Debt Does Pizu Group Holdings Carry?

As you can see below, Pizu Group Holdings had CN¥1.04b of debt, at September 2022, which is about the same as the year before. You can click the chart for greater detail. However, because it has a cash reserve of CN¥592.4m, its net debt is less, at about CN¥448.3m.

A Look At Pizu Group Holdings' Liabilities

Zooming in on the latest balance sheet data, we can see that Pizu Group Holdings had liabilities of CN¥1.21b due within 12 months and liabilities of CN¥558.3m due beyond that. On the other hand, it had cash of CN¥592.4m and CN¥842.5m worth of receivables due within a year. So it has liabilities totalling CN¥336.8m more than its cash and near-term receivables, combined.

While this might seem like a lot, it is not so bad since Pizu Group Holdings has a market capitalization of CN¥1.28b, and so it could probably strengthen its balance sheet by raising capital if it needed to. 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). 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).

Pizu Group Holdings has a low net debt to EBITDA ratio of only 1.2. And its EBIT covers its interest expense a whopping 10.4 times over. So we're pretty relaxed about its super-conservative use of debt. But the bad news is that Pizu Group Holdings has seen its EBIT plunge 20% in the last twelve months. If that rate of decline in earnings continues, the company could find itself in a tight spot. The balance sheet is clearly the area to focus on when you are analysing debt. But you can't view debt in total isolation; since Pizu Group Holdings will need earnings to service that debt. So if you're keen to discover more about its earnings, it might be worth checking out this graph of its long term earnings trend.

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. During the last three years, Pizu Group Holdings generated free cash flow amounting to a very robust 81% of its EBIT, more than we'd expect. That puts it in a very strong position to pay down debt.

Our View

Pizu Group Holdings's conversion of EBIT to free cash flow was a real positive on this analysis, as was its interest cover. But truth be told its EBIT growth rate had us nibbling our nails. Considering this range of data points, we think Pizu Group Holdings is in a good position to manage its debt levels. But a word of caution: we think debt levels are high enough to justify ongoing monitoring. 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. Be aware that Pizu Group Holdings is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis , you should know about...

If, after all that, you're more interested in a fast growing company with a rock-solid balance sheet, then check out our list of net cash growth stocks without delay.

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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.