Dollar Industries (NSE:DOLLAR) Has A Pretty 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.' 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. We can see that Dollar Industries Limited (NSE:DOLLAR) does use debt in its business. But should shareholders be worried about its use of debt?

Why Does Debt Bring Risk?

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. In the worst case scenario, a company can go bankrupt if it cannot pay its creditors. 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. When we examine debt levels, we first consider both cash and debt levels, together.

View our latest analysis for Dollar Industries

How Much Debt Does Dollar Industries Carry?

You can click the graphic below for the historical numbers, but it shows that as of September 2022 Dollar Industries had ₹2.43b of debt, an increase on ₹1.64b, over one year. Net debt is about the same, since the it doesn't have much cash.

How Strong Is Dollar Industries' Balance Sheet?

We can see from the most recent balance sheet that Dollar Industries had liabilities of ₹4.18b falling due within a year, and liabilities of ₹188.2m due beyond that. On the other hand, it had cash of ₹3.30m and ₹3.94b worth of receivables due within a year. So its liabilities outweigh the sum of its cash and (near-term) receivables by ₹420.1m.

Having regard to Dollar Industries' size, it seems that its liquid assets are well balanced with its total liabilities. So it's very unlikely that the ₹24.6b company is short on cash, but still worth keeping an eye on the balance sheet.

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). This way, we consider both the absolute quantum of the debt, as well as the interest rates paid on it.

Dollar Industries has a low net debt to EBITDA ratio of only 1.3. And its EBIT covers its interest expense a whopping 12.7 times over. So you could argue it is no more threatened by its debt than an elephant is by a mouse. Fortunately, Dollar Industries grew its EBIT by 7.6% in the last year, making that debt load look even more manageable. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. But you can't view debt in total isolation; since Dollar Industries will need earnings to service that debt. So when considering debt, it's definitely worth looking at the earnings trend. Click here for an interactive snapshot.

Finally, while the tax-man may adore accounting profits, lenders only accept cold hard cash. So we always check how much of that EBIT is translated into free cash flow. Over the last three years, Dollar Industries reported free cash flow worth 8.9% of its EBIT, which is really quite low. For us, cash conversion that low sparks a little paranoia about is ability to extinguish debt.

Our View

On our analysis Dollar Industries's interest cover should signal that it won't have too much trouble with its debt. But the other factors we noted above weren't so encouraging. For example, its conversion of EBIT to free cash flow makes us a little nervous about its debt. Considering this range of data points, we think Dollar Industries is in a good position to manage its debt levels. But a word of caution: we think debt levels are high enough to justify ongoing monitoring. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. But ultimately, every company can contain risks that exist outside of the balance sheet. For example Dollar Industries has 2 warning signs (and 1 which makes us a bit uncomfortable) we think you should know about.

Of course, if you're the type of investor who prefers buying stocks without the burden of debt, then don't hesitate to discover our exclusive list of net cash growth stocks, today.

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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.