Aluminum Corporation of China (HKG:2600) Seems To Use Debt Quite Sensibly

David Iben put it well when he said, 'Volatility is not a risk we care about. What we care about is avoiding the 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 Aluminum Corporation of China Limited (HKG:2600) does use debt in its business. But the real question is whether this debt is making the company risky.

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 usual (but still expensive) situation is where a company must dilute shareholders at a cheap share price simply to get debt under control. 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 think about a company's use of debt, we first look at cash and debt together.

Check out our latest analysis for Aluminum Corporation of China

How Much Debt Does Aluminum Corporation of China Carry?

You can click the graphic below for the historical numbers, but it shows that Aluminum Corporation of China had CN¥74.6b of debt in March 2022, down from CN¥85.3b, one year before. However, it does have CN¥23.0b in cash offsetting this, leading to net debt of about CN¥51.6b.

A Look At Aluminum Corporation of China's Liabilities

According to the last reported balance sheet, Aluminum Corporation of China had liabilities of CN¥51.3b due within 12 months, and liabilities of CN¥70.2b due beyond 12 months. Offsetting this, it had CN¥23.0b in cash and CN¥9.19b in receivables that were due within 12 months. So its liabilities outweigh the sum of its cash and (near-term) receivables by CN¥89.3b.

When you consider that this deficiency exceeds the company's huge CN¥79.3b market capitalization, you might well be inclined to review the balance sheet intently. In the scenario where the company had to clean up its balance sheet quickly, it seems likely shareholders would suffer extensive dilution.

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

Aluminum Corporation of China's net debt is sitting at a very reasonable 1.9 times its EBITDA, while its EBIT covered its interest expense just 5.4 times last year. While these numbers do not alarm us, it's worth noting that the cost of the company's debt is having a real impact. Pleasingly, Aluminum Corporation of China is growing its EBIT faster than former Australian PM Bob Hawke downs a yard glass, boasting a 122% gain in the last twelve months. The balance sheet is clearly the area to focus on when you are analysing debt. But ultimately the future profitability of the business will decide if Aluminum Corporation of China 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.

But our final consideration is also important, because a company cannot pay debt with paper profits; it needs cold hard cash. So the logical step is to look at the proportion of that EBIT that is matched by actual free cash flow. Over the last three years, Aluminum Corporation of China 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

Aluminum Corporation of China's conversion of EBIT to free cash flow was a real positive on this analysis, as was its EBIT growth rate. But truth be told its level of total liabilities had us nibbling our nails. Considering this range of data points, we think Aluminum Corporation of China 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. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. However, not all investment risk resides within the balance sheet - far from it. To that end, you should be aware of the 3 warning signs we've spotted with Aluminum Corporation of China .

If you're interested in investing in businesses that can grow profits without the burden of debt, then check out this free list of growing businesses that have net cash on the balance sheet.

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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.