Is Univo Pharmaceuticals (TLV:UNVO) A Risky Investment?

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. As with many other companies Univo Pharmaceuticals Ltd (TLV:UNVO) makes use of debt. But should shareholders be worried about its use of debt?

What Risk Does Debt Bring?

Debt and other liabilities become risky for a business when it cannot easily fulfill those obligations, either with free cash flow or by raising capital at an attractive price. In the worst case scenario, a company can go bankrupt if it cannot pay its creditors. 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. The first thing to do when considering how much debt a business uses is to look at its cash and debt together.

See our latest analysis for Univo Pharmaceuticals

What Is Univo Pharmaceuticals's Net Debt?

You can click the graphic below for the historical numbers, but it shows that as of September 2021 Univo Pharmaceuticals had ₪27.9m of debt, an increase on ₪15.5m, over one year. However, because it has a cash reserve of ₪11.7m, its net debt is less, at about ₪16.2m.

A Look At Univo Pharmaceuticals' Liabilities

According to the last reported balance sheet, Univo Pharmaceuticals had liabilities of ₪17.5m due within 12 months, and liabilities of ₪28.7m due beyond 12 months. Offsetting these obligations, it had cash of ₪11.7m as well as receivables valued at ₪10.8m due within 12 months. So it has liabilities totalling ₪23.7m more than its cash and near-term receivables, combined.

This deficit isn't so bad because Univo Pharmaceuticals is worth ₪51.1m, and thus could probably raise enough capital to shore up its balance sheet, if the need arose. But it's clear that we should definitely closely examine whether it can manage its debt without dilution.

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). 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).

While Univo Pharmaceuticals's debt to EBITDA ratio (2.8) suggests that it uses some debt, its interest cover is very weak, at 1.4, suggesting high leverage. So shareholders should probably be aware that interest expenses appear to have really impacted the business lately. One redeeming factor for Univo Pharmaceuticals is that it turned last year's EBIT loss into a gain of ₪3.9m, over the last twelve months. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. But you can't view debt in total isolation; since Univo Pharmaceuticals 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 it's worth checking how much of the earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) is backed by free cash flow. During the last year, Univo Pharmaceuticals burned a lot of cash. While investors are no doubt expecting a reversal of that situation in due course, it clearly does mean its use of debt is more risky.

Our View

On the face of it, Univo Pharmaceuticals's interest cover left us tentative about the stock, and its conversion of EBIT to free cash flow was no more enticing than the one empty restaurant on the busiest night of the year. Having said that, its ability to grow its EBIT isn't such a worry. Overall, we think it's fair to say that Univo Pharmaceuticals has enough debt that there are some real risks around the balance sheet. If all goes well, that should boost returns, but on the flip side, the risk of permanent capital loss is elevated by the debt. 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. Case in point: We've spotted 4 warning signs for Univo Pharmaceuticals you should be aware of, and 1 of them is significant.

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.