E & M Computing (TLV:EMCO) Has A Pretty Healthy Balance Sheet

Legendary fund manager Li Lu (who Charlie Munger backed) once said, 'The biggest investment risk is not the volatility of prices, but whether you will suffer a permanent loss of capital.' So it might be obvious that you need to consider debt, when you think about how risky any given stock is, because too much debt can sink a company. As with many other companies E & M Computing Ltd. (TLV:EMCO) makes use of debt. But the real question is whether this debt is making the company risky.

When Is Debt A Problem?

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. If things get really bad, the lenders can take control of the business. However, a more common (but still painful) scenario is that it has to raise new equity capital at a low price, thus permanently diluting shareholders. 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 examine debt levels, we first consider both cash and debt levels, together.

See our latest analysis for E & M Computing

What Is E & M Computing's Debt?

You can click the graphic below for the historical numbers, but it shows that as of June 2020 E & M Computing had ₪166.0m of debt, an increase on ₪152.6m, over one year. On the flip side, it has ₪76.5m in cash leading to net debt of about ₪89.5m.

A Look At E & M Computing's Liabilities

Zooming in on the latest balance sheet data, we can see that E & M Computing had liabilities of ₪414.6m due within 12 months and liabilities of ₪106.7m due beyond that. Offsetting this, it had ₪76.5m in cash and ₪341.3m in receivables that were due within 12 months. So it has liabilities totalling ₪103.5m more than its cash and near-term receivables, combined.

Of course, E & M Computing has a market capitalization of ₪577.9m, so these liabilities are probably manageable. However, we do think it is worth keeping an eye on its balance sheet strength, as it may change over time.

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.

E & M Computing has a low net debt to EBITDA ratio of only 1.0. And its EBIT covers its interest expense a whopping 16.0 times over. So you could argue it is no more threatened by its debt than an elephant is by a mouse. And we also note warmly that E & M Computing grew its EBIT by 11% last year, making its debt load easier to handle. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. But it is E & M Computing's earnings that will influence how the balance sheet holds up in the future. 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 we always check how much of that EBIT is translated into free cash flow. Over the last three years, E & M Computing recorded free cash flow worth a fulsome 87% of its EBIT, which is stronger than we'd usually expect. That positions it well to pay down debt if desirable to do so.

Our View

The good news is that E & M Computing's demonstrated ability to cover its interest expense with its EBIT delights us like a fluffy puppy does a toddler. And the good news does not stop there, as its conversion of EBIT to free cash flow also supports that impression! Zooming out, E & M Computing seems to use debt quite reasonably; and that gets the nod from us. While debt does bring risk, when used wisely it can also bring a higher return on equity. 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. For example, we've discovered 3 warning signs for E & M Computing (1 is a bit unpleasant!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

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.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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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