Here's Why United Energy Group (HKG:467) Can Manage Its Debt Responsibly

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.' It's only natural to consider a company's balance sheet when you examine how risky it is, since debt is often involved when a business collapses. We can see that United Energy Group Limited (HKG:467) does use debt in its business. But the more important question is: how much risk is that debt creating?

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. Of course, debt can be an important tool in businesses, particularly capital heavy businesses. When we think about a company's use of debt, we first look at cash and debt together.

View our latest analysis for United Energy Group

What Is United Energy Group's Net Debt?

As you can see below, United Energy Group had HK$313.6m of debt at June 2024, down from HK$3.21b a year prior. However, its balance sheet shows it holds HK$4.82b in cash, so it actually has HK$4.51b net cash.

How Strong Is United Energy Group's Balance Sheet?

Zooming in on the latest balance sheet data, we can see that United Energy Group had liabilities of HK$10.6b due within 12 months and liabilities of HK$2.94b due beyond that. Offsetting this, it had HK$4.82b in cash and HK$7.40b in receivables that were due within 12 months. So its liabilities outweigh the sum of its cash and (near-term) receivables by HK$1.28b.

Of course, United Energy Group has a market capitalization of HK$8.14b, so these liabilities are probably manageable. But there are sufficient liabilities that we would certainly recommend shareholders continue to monitor the balance sheet, going forward. Despite its noteworthy liabilities, United Energy Group boasts net cash, so it's fair to say it does not have a heavy debt load!

The modesty of its debt load may become crucial for United Energy Group if management cannot prevent a repeat of the 52% cut to EBIT over the last year. When a company sees its earnings tank, it can sometimes find its relationships with its lenders turn sour. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. But ultimately the future profitability of the business will decide if United Energy Group 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. While United Energy Group 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. During the last three years, United Energy Group produced sturdy free cash flow equating to 56% of its EBIT, about what we'd expect. This cold hard cash means it can reduce its debt when it wants to.

Summing Up

While United Energy Group does have more liabilities than liquid assets, it also has net cash of HK$4.51b. So we don't have any problem with United Energy Group's use of debt. There's no doubt that we learn most about debt from the balance sheet. But ultimately, every company can contain risks that exist outside of the balance sheet. Be aware that United Energy Group is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis , you should know about...

When all is said and done, sometimes its easier to focus on companies that don't even need debt. Readers can access a list of growth stocks with zero net debt 100% free, right now.

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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.