Is SajodongaoneLtd (KRX:008040) A Risky Investment?

Warren Buffett famously said, '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 Sajodongaone Co.,Ltd (KRX:008040) makes use of debt. But the real question is whether this debt is making the company risky.

When Is Debt A Problem?

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 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. By replacing dilution, though, debt can be an extremely good tool for businesses that need capital to invest in growth at high rates of return. The first thing to do when considering how much debt a business uses is to look at its cash and debt together.

See our latest analysis for SajodongaoneLtd

What Is SajodongaoneLtd's Net Debt?

You can click the graphic below for the historical numbers, but it shows that SajodongaoneLtd had ₩224.0b of debt in September 2020, down from ₩245.6b, one year before. However, because it has a cash reserve of ₩14.8b, its net debt is less, at about ₩209.2b.

A Look At SajodongaoneLtd's Liabilities

Zooming in on the latest balance sheet data, we can see that SajodongaoneLtd had liabilities of ₩239.4b due within 12 months and liabilities of ₩37.8b due beyond that. On the other hand, it had cash of ₩14.8b and ₩57.2b worth of receivables due within a year. So its liabilities total ₩205.2b more than the combination of its cash and short-term receivables.

When you consider that this deficiency exceeds the company's ₩157.8b market capitalization, you might well be inclined to review the balance sheet intently. Hypothetically, extremely heavy dilution would be required if the company were forced to pay down its liabilities by raising capital at the current share price.

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). Thus we consider debt relative to earnings both with and without depreciation and amortization expenses.

Weak interest cover of 1.8 times and a disturbingly high net debt to EBITDA ratio of 7.6 hit our confidence in SajodongaoneLtd like a one-two punch to the gut. This means we'd consider it to have a heavy debt load. Even more troubling is the fact that SajodongaoneLtd actually let its EBIT decrease by 8.1% over the last year. If that earnings trend continues the company will face an uphill battle to pay off its debt. The balance sheet is clearly the area to focus on when you are analysing debt. But it is SajodongaoneLtd'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.

But our final consideration is also important, because a company cannot pay debt with paper profits; it needs cold hard cash. So we clearly need to look at whether that EBIT is leading to corresponding free cash flow. Looking at the most recent three years, SajodongaoneLtd recorded free cash flow of 49% of its EBIT, which is weaker than we'd expect. That weak cash conversion makes it more difficult to handle indebtedness.

Our View

To be frank both SajodongaoneLtd's interest cover and its track record of managing its debt, based on its EBITDA, make us rather uncomfortable with its debt levels. But at least its conversion of EBIT to free cash flow is not so bad. Overall, it seems to us that SajodongaoneLtd's balance sheet is really quite a risk to the business. So we're almost as wary of this stock as a hungry kitten is about falling into its owner's fish pond: once bitten, twice shy, as they say. The balance sheet is clearly the area to focus on when you are analysing debt. However, not all investment risk resides within the balance sheet - far from it. For instance, we've identified 1 warning sign for SajodongaoneLtd that you should be aware of.

If you're interested in investing in businesses that can grow profits without the burden of debt, then check out this free list of growing businesses that have net cash on the balance sheet.

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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.
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