Nexen Tire (KRX:002350) Has No Shortage Of 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.' When we think about how risky a company is, we always like to look at its use of debt, since debt overload can lead to ruin. Importantly, Nexen Tire Corporation (KRX:002350) does carry debt. 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. Ultimately, if the company can't fulfill its legal obligations to repay debt, shareholders could walk away with nothing. However, a more usual (but still expensive) situation is where a company must dilute shareholders at a cheap share price simply to get debt under control. Of course, plenty of companies use debt to fund growth, without any negative consequences. The first step when considering a company's debt levels is to consider its cash and debt together.

View our latest analysis for Nexen Tire

What Is Nexen Tire's Net Debt?

As you can see below, at the end of December 2020, Nexen Tire had ₩1.38t of debt, up from ₩1.20t a year ago. Click the image for more detail. However, it does have ₩445.8b in cash offsetting this, leading to net debt of about ₩931.0b.

How Healthy Is Nexen Tire's Balance Sheet?

Zooming in on the latest balance sheet data, we can see that Nexen Tire had liabilities of ₩766.8b due within 12 months and liabilities of ₩1.23t due beyond that. Offsetting this, it had ₩445.8b in cash and ₩382.1b in receivables that were due within 12 months. So its liabilities outweigh the sum of its cash and (near-term) receivables by ₩1.17t.

This deficit casts a shadow over the ₩766.0b company, like a colossus towering over mere mortals. So we'd watch its balance sheet closely, without a doubt. After all, Nexen Tire would likely require a major re-capitalisation if it had to pay its creditors today.

In order to size up a company's debt relative to its earnings, we calculate its net debt divided by its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) and its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) divided by its interest expense (its interest cover). Thus we consider debt relative to earnings both with and without depreciation and amortization expenses.

Nexen Tire has a debt to EBITDA ratio of 4.1 and its EBIT covered its interest expense 3.2 times. This suggests that while the debt levels are significant, we'd stop short of calling them problematic. Even worse, Nexen Tire saw its EBIT tank 81% over the last 12 months. If earnings continue to follow that trajectory, paying off that debt load will be harder than convincing us to run a marathon in the rain. There's no doubt that we learn most about debt from the balance sheet. But ultimately the future profitability of the business will decide if Nexen Tire can strengthen its balance sheet over time. So if you're focused on the future you can check out this free report showing analyst profit forecasts.

But our final consideration is also important, because a company cannot pay debt with paper profits; it needs cold hard cash. So we always check how much of that EBIT is translated into free cash flow. Over the last three years, Nexen Tire saw substantial negative free cash flow, in total. While investors are no doubt expecting a reversal of that situation in due course, it clearly does mean its use of debt is more risky.

Our View

To be frank both Nexen Tire's conversion of EBIT to free cash flow and its track record of (not) growing its EBIT make us rather uncomfortable with its debt levels. And furthermore, its net debt to EBITDA also fails to instill confidence. Considering all the factors previously mentioned, we think that Nexen Tire really is carrying too much debt. To us, that makes the stock rather risky, like walking through a dog park with your eyes closed. But some investors may feel differently. 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. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for Nexen Tire you should be aware of, and 1 of them is concerning.

When all is said and done, sometimes its easier to focus on companies that don't even need debt. Readers can access a list of growth stocks with zero net debt 100% free, right now.

If you’re looking to trade Nexen Tire, open an account with the lowest-cost* platform trusted by professionals, Interactive Brokers. Their clients from over 200 countries and territories trade stocks, options, futures, forex, bonds and funds worldwide from a single integrated account. Promoted

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.
^*Interactive Brokers Rated Lowest Cost Broker by StockBrokers.com Annual Online Review 2020

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.