David Iben put it well when he said, ‘Volatility is not a risk we care about. What we care about is avoiding the permanent loss of capital. So it seems the smart money knows that debt – which is usually involved in bankruptcies – is a very important factor, when you assess how risky a company is. We can see that YEST Co., Ltd. (KOSDAQ:122640) does use debt in its business. But the more important question is: how much risk is that debt creating?
When Is Debt A Problem?
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. Having said that, the most common situation is where a company manages its debt reasonably well – and to its own advantage. When we examine debt levels, we first consider both cash and debt levels, together.
See our latest analysis for YEST
What Is YEST’s Debt?
As you can see below, at the end of September 2019, YEST had ₩89.6b of debt, up from ₩58.3k a year ago. Click the image for more detail. However, it also had ₩27.2b in cash, and so its net debt is ₩62.4b.
How Strong Is YEST’s Balance Sheet?
Zooming in on the latest balance sheet data, we can see that YEST had liabilities of ₩37.4b due within 12 months and liabilities of ₩62.6b due beyond that. Offsetting this, it had ₩27.2b in cash and ₩17.8b in receivables that were due within 12 months. So its liabilities outweigh the sum of its cash and (near-term) receivables by ₩55.0b.
YEST has a market capitalization of ₩173.0b, so it could very likely raise cash to ameliorate its balance sheet, if the need arose. But we definitely want to keep our eyes open to indications that its debt is bringing too much risk. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. But ultimately the future profitability of the business will decide if YEST can strengthen its balance sheet over time. So if you want to see what the professionals think, you might find this free report on analyst profit forecasts to be interesting.
Over 12 months, YEST made a loss at the EBIT level, and saw its revenue drop to ₩57b, which is a fall of 42%. To be frank that doesn’t bode well.
Caveat Emptor
While YEST’s falling revenue is about as heartwarming as a wet blanket, arguably its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) loss is even less appealing. To be specific the EBIT loss came in at ₩4.4b. When we look at that and recall the liabilities on its balance sheet, relative to cash, it seems unwise to us for the company to have any debt. Quite frankly we think the balance sheet is far from match-fit, although it could be improved with time. Another cause for caution is that is bled ₩29b in negative free cash flow over the last twelve months. So suffice it to say we consider the stock very risky. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. However, not all investment risk resides within the balance sheet – far from it. Case in point: We’ve spotted 3 warning signs for YEST you should be aware of, and 2 of them can’t be ignored.
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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