Salzer Electronics (NSE:SALZERELEC) Has A Somewhat Strained 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.' 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 note that Salzer Electronics Limited (NSE:SALZERELEC) does have debt on its balance sheet. But is this debt a concern to shareholders?

Why Does Debt Bring Risk?

Debt assists a business until the business has trouble paying it off, either with new capital or with free 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 common (but still painful) scenario is that it has to raise new equity capital at a low price, thus permanently diluting shareholders. 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.

See our latest analysis for Salzer Electronics

What Is Salzer Electronics's Net Debt?

As you can see below, at the end of September 2021, Salzer Electronics had ₹2.33b of debt, up from ₹1.87b a year ago. Click the image for more detail. On the flip side, it has ₹148.1m in cash leading to net debt of about ₹2.18b.

A Look At Salzer Electronics' Liabilities

According to the last reported balance sheet, Salzer Electronics had liabilities of ₹3.16b due within 12 months, and liabilities of ₹349.4m due beyond 12 months. Offsetting this, it had ₹148.1m in cash and ₹2.01b in receivables that were due within 12 months. So its liabilities outweigh the sum of its cash and (near-term) receivables by ₹1.35b.

While this might seem like a lot, it is not so bad since Salzer Electronics has a market capitalization of ₹3.78b, and so it could probably strengthen its balance sheet by raising capital if it needed to. However, it is still worthwhile taking a close look at its ability to pay off debt.

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).

Salzer Electronics's debt is 3.2 times its EBITDA, and its EBIT cover its interest expense 4.7 times over. This suggests that while the debt levels are significant, we'd stop short of calling them problematic. If Salzer Electronics can keep growing EBIT at last year's rate of 16% over the last year, then it will find its debt load easier to manage. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. But it is Salzer Electronics'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 it's worth checking how much of that EBIT is backed by free cash flow. Over the last three years, Salzer Electronics recorded negative free cash flow, in total. Debt is far more risky for companies with unreliable free cash flow, so shareholders should be hoping that the past expenditure will produce free cash flow in the future.

Our View

Salzer Electronics's conversion of EBIT to free cash flow was a real negative on this analysis, although the other factors we considered cast it in a significantly better light. For example, its EBIT growth rate is relatively strong. When we consider all the factors discussed, it seems to us that Salzer Electronics is taking some risks with its use of debt. While that debt can boost returns, we think the company has enough leverage now. 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. We've identified 4 warning signs with Salzer Electronics (at least 1 which shouldn't be ignored) , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

At the end of the day, it's often better to focus on companies that are free from net debt. You can access our special list of such companies (all with a track record of profit growth). It's free.

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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.