Shenzhen Expressway (HKG:548) Has A Somewhat Strained Balance Sheet

Some say volatility, rather than debt, is the best way to think about risk as an investor, but Warren Buffett famously said that 'Volatility is far from synonymous with risk.' 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 Shenzhen Expressway Corporation Limited (HKG:548) makes use of debt. But should shareholders be worried about its use of debt?

When Is Debt A Problem?

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. Ultimately, if the company can't fulfill its legal obligations to repay debt, shareholders could walk away with nothing. 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, plenty of companies use debt to fund growth, without any negative consequences. When we examine debt levels, we first consider both cash and debt levels, together.

Check out our latest analysis for Shenzhen Expressway

What Is Shenzhen Expressway's Net Debt?

You can click the graphic below for the historical numbers, but it shows that as of September 2021 Shenzhen Expressway had CN¥23.6b of debt, an increase on CN¥20.2b, over one year. However, it also had CN¥4.40b in cash, and so its net debt is CN¥19.2b.

How Strong Is Shenzhen Expressway's Balance Sheet?

According to the last reported balance sheet, Shenzhen Expressway had liabilities of CN¥13.2b due within 12 months, and liabilities of CN¥17.5b due beyond 12 months. On the other hand, it had cash of CN¥4.40b and CN¥2.70b worth of receivables due within a year. So its liabilities outweigh the sum of its cash and (near-term) receivables by CN¥23.7b.

When you consider that this deficiency exceeds the company's CN¥20.0b market capitalization, you might well be inclined to review the balance sheet intently. Hypothetically, extremely heavy dilution would be required if the company were forced to pay down its liabilities by raising capital at the current share price.

We measure a company's debt load relative to its earnings power by looking at its net debt divided by its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) and by calculating how easily its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) cover its interest expense (interest cover). Thus we consider debt relative to earnings both with and without depreciation and amortization expenses.

Shenzhen Expressway has a debt to EBITDA ratio of 3.4, which signals significant debt, but is still pretty reasonable for most types of business. But its EBIT was about 1k times its interest expense, implying the company isn't really paying a high cost to maintain that level of debt. Even were the low cost to prove unsustainable, that is a good sign. Notably, Shenzhen Expressway's EBIT launched higher than Elon Musk, gaining a whopping 171% on last year. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. But ultimately the future profitability of the business will decide if Shenzhen Expressway 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 business needs free cash flow to pay off debt; accounting profits just don't cut it. So we always check how much of that EBIT is translated into free cash flow. Considering the last three years, Shenzhen Expressway actually recorded a cash outflow, overall. Debt is usually more expensive, and almost always more risky in the hands of a company with negative free cash flow. Shareholders ought to hope for an improvement.

Our View

While Shenzhen Expressway's conversion of EBIT to free cash flow has us nervous. To wit both its interest cover and EBIT growth rate were encouraging signs. It's also worth noting that Shenzhen Expressway is in the Infrastructure industry, which is often considered to be quite defensive. Taking the abovementioned factors together we do think Shenzhen Expressway's debt poses some risks to the business. So while that leverage does boost returns on equity, we wouldn't really want to see it increase from here. The balance sheet is clearly the area to focus on when you are analysing debt. But ultimately, every company can contain risks that exist outside of the balance sheet. These risks can be hard to spot. Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Shenzhen Expressway (of which 1 is concerning!) 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.