Does Sino Land (HKG:83) Have A Healthy Balance Sheet?

Howard Marks put it nicely when he said that, rather than worrying about share price volatility, 'The possibility of permanent loss is the risk I worry about... and every practical investor I know worries about.' When we think about how risky a company is, we always like to look at its use of debt, since debt overload can lead to ruin. We note that Sino Land Company Limited (HKG:83) does have debt on its balance sheet. But is this debt a concern to shareholders?

What Risk Does Debt Bring?

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. While that is not too common, we often do see indebted companies permanently diluting shareholders because lenders force them to raise capital at a distressed price. Of course, plenty of companies use debt to fund growth, without any negative consequences. The first step when considering a company's debt levels is to consider its cash and debt together.

See our latest analysis for Sino Land

How Much Debt Does Sino Land Carry?

As you can see below, Sino Land had HK$7.90b of debt, at June 2021, 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 HK$44.1b in cash, leading to a HK$36.2b net cash position.

A Look At Sino Land's Liabilities

Zooming in on the latest balance sheet data, we can see that Sino Land had liabilities of HK$18.0b due within 12 months and liabilities of HK$6.94b due beyond that. On the other hand, it had cash of HK$44.1b and HK$7.05b worth of receivables due within a year. So it can boast HK$26.3b more liquid assets than total liabilities.

This luscious liquidity implies that Sino Land's balance sheet is sturdy like a giant sequoia tree. With this in mind one could posit that its balance sheet means the company is able to handle some adversity. Succinctly put, Sino Land boasts net cash, so it's fair to say it does not have a heavy debt load!

Better yet, Sino Land grew its EBIT by 419% last year, which is an impressive improvement. If maintained that growth will make the debt even more manageable in the years ahead. There's no doubt that we learn most about debt from the balance sheet. But ultimately the future profitability of the business will decide if Sino Land 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. Sino Land may have net cash on the balance sheet, but it is still interesting to look at how well the business converts its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) to free cash flow, because that will influence both its need for, and its capacity to manage debt. Happily for any shareholders, Sino Land actually produced more free cash flow than EBIT over the last three years. That sort of strong cash conversion gets us as excited as the crowd when the beat drops at a Daft Punk concert.

Summing up

While it is always sensible to investigate a company's debt, in this case Sino Land has HK$36.2b in net cash and a decent-looking balance sheet. And it impressed us with free cash flow of HK$2.2b, being 122% of its EBIT. The bottom line is that we do not find Sino Land's debt levels at all concerning. There's no doubt that we learn most about debt from the balance sheet. However, not all investment risk resides within the balance sheet - far from it. For instance, we've identified 2 warning signs for Sino Land (1 shouldn't be ignored) you should be aware of.

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.

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.

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