KCP (NSE:KCP) Could Easily Take On More Debt

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.' 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 The KCP Limited (NSE:KCP) makes use of debt. But the real question is whether this debt is making the company risky.

When Is Debt Dangerous?

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. 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, plenty of companies use debt to fund growth, without any negative consequences. When we think about a company's use of debt, we first look at cash and debt together.

View our latest analysis for KCP

How Much Debt Does KCP Carry?

As you can see below, KCP had ₹3.88b of debt at September 2021, down from ₹5.29b a year prior. However, its balance sheet shows it holds ₹4.88b in cash, so it actually has ₹1.00b net cash.

How Healthy Is KCP's Balance Sheet?

The latest balance sheet data shows that KCP had liabilities of ₹4.55b due within a year, and liabilities of ₹4.05b falling due after that. On the other hand, it had cash of ₹4.88b and ₹1.11b worth of receivables due within a year. So it has liabilities totalling ₹2.62b more than its cash and near-term receivables, combined.

Given KCP has a market capitalization of ₹15.5b, it's hard to believe these liabilities pose much threat. Having said that, it's clear that we should continue to monitor its balance sheet, lest it change for the worse. Despite its noteworthy liabilities, KCP boasts net cash, so it's fair to say it does not have a heavy debt load!

On top of that, KCP grew its EBIT by 56% over the last twelve months, and that growth will make it easier to handle its debt. The balance sheet is clearly the area to focus on when you are analysing debt. But you can't view debt in total isolation; since KCP 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.

But our final consideration is also important, because a company cannot pay debt with paper profits; it needs cold hard cash. While KCP has net cash on its balance sheet, it's still worth taking a look at its ability to convert earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) to free cash flow, to help us understand how quickly it is building (or eroding) that cash balance. Over the most recent three years, KCP recorded free cash flow worth 62% of its EBIT, which is around normal, given free cash flow excludes interest and tax. This cold hard cash means it can reduce its debt when it wants to.

Summing up

Although KCP's balance sheet isn't particularly strong, due to the total liabilities, it is clearly positive to see that it has net cash of ₹1.00b. And we liked the look of last year's 56% year-on-year EBIT growth. So we don't think KCP's use of debt is risky. 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. To that end, you should be aware of the 1 warning sign we've spotted with KCP .

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.