These 4 Measures Indicate That Brunello Cucinelli (BIT:BC) Is Using Debt Safely

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 Brunello Cucinelli S.p.A. (BIT:BC) makes use of debt. But the real question is whether this debt is making the company risky.

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. 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.

See our latest analysis for Brunello Cucinelli

What Is Brunello Cucinelli's Debt?

The image below, which you can click on for greater detail, shows that at June 2024 Brunello Cucinelli had debt of €157.8m, up from €130.0m in one year. However, because it has a cash reserve of €89.9m, its net debt is less, at about €68.0m.

How Healthy Is Brunello Cucinelli's Balance Sheet?

Zooming in on the latest balance sheet data, we can see that Brunello Cucinelli had liabilities of €446.9m due within 12 months and liabilities of €639.7m due beyond that. Offsetting these obligations, it had cash of €89.9m as well as receivables valued at €125.9m due within 12 months. So its liabilities outweigh the sum of its cash and (near-term) receivables by €870.9m.

Given Brunello Cucinelli has a market capitalization of €6.29b, it's hard to believe these liabilities pose much threat. But there are sufficient liabilities that we would certainly recommend shareholders continue to monitor the balance sheet, going forward. Carrying virtually no net debt, Brunello Cucinelli has a very light debt load indeed.

We use two main ratios to inform us about debt levels relative to earnings. The first is net debt divided by earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA), while the second is how many times its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) covers its interest expense (or its interest cover, for short). Thus we consider debt relative to earnings both with and without depreciation and amortization expenses.

Looking at its net debt to EBITDA of 0.26 and interest cover of 5.7 times, it seems to us that Brunello Cucinelli is probably using debt in a pretty reasonable way. But the interest payments are certainly sufficient to have us thinking about how affordable its debt is. Also relevant is that Brunello Cucinelli has grown its EBIT by a very respectable 28% in the last year, thus enhancing its ability to pay down debt. There's no doubt that we learn most about debt from the balance sheet. But it is future earnings, more than anything, that will determine Brunello Cucinelli's ability to maintain a healthy balance sheet going forward. So if you're focused on the future you can check out this free report showing analyst profit forecasts.

Finally, while the tax-man may adore accounting profits, lenders only accept cold hard cash. So it's worth checking how much of that EBIT is backed by free cash flow. Over the last three years, Brunello Cucinelli recorded free cash flow worth a fulsome 97% 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 Brunello Cucinelli's demonstrated ability to convert EBIT to free cash flow delights us like a fluffy puppy does a toddler. And the good news does not stop there, as its EBIT growth rate also supports that impression! Considering this range of factors, it seems to us that Brunello Cucinelli is quite prudent with its debt, and the risks seem well managed. So the balance sheet looks pretty healthy, to us. Over time, share prices tend to follow earnings per share, so if you're interested in Brunello Cucinelli, you may well want to click here to check an interactive graph of its earnings per share history.

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.