MOBASELtd (KOSDAQ:101330) Seems To Be Using A Lot Of Debt

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. We note that MOBASE Co.,Ltd. (KOSDAQ:101330) does have debt on its balance sheet. But the more important question is: how much risk is that debt creating?

What Risk Does Debt Bring?

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. 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, debt can be an important tool in businesses, particularly capital heavy businesses. The first thing to do when considering how much debt a business uses is to look at its cash and debt together.

View our latest analysis for MOBASELtd

How Much Debt Does MOBASELtd Carry?

The image below, which you can click on for greater detail, shows that MOBASELtd had debt of ₩287.3b at the end of September 2020, a reduction from ₩335.2b over a year. However, because it has a cash reserve of ₩56.8b, its net debt is less, at about ₩230.5b.

A Look At MOBASELtd's Liabilities

Zooming in on the latest balance sheet data, we can see that MOBASELtd had liabilities of ₩535.4b due within 12 months and liabilities of ₩123.4b due beyond that. Offsetting these obligations, it had cash of ₩56.8b as well as receivables valued at ₩246.0b due within 12 months. So it has liabilities totalling ₩356.1b more than its cash and near-term receivables, combined.

This deficit casts a shadow over the ₩92.2b company, like a colossus towering over mere mortals. So we'd watch its balance sheet closely, without a doubt. After all, MOBASELtd would likely require a major re-capitalisation if it had to pay its creditors today.

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). The advantage of this approach is that we take into account both the absolute quantum of debt (with net debt to EBITDA) and the actual interest expenses associated with that debt (with its interest cover ratio).

While MOBASELtd's debt to EBITDA ratio (3.2) suggests that it uses some debt, its interest cover is very weak, at 1.2, suggesting high leverage. It seems that the business incurs large depreciation and amortisation charges, so maybe its debt load is heavier than it would first appear, since EBITDA is arguably a generous measure of earnings. It seems clear that the cost of borrowing money is negatively impacting returns for shareholders, of late. Even worse, MOBASELtd saw its EBIT tank 54% 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 it is MOBASELtd's earnings that will influence how the balance sheet holds up in the future. So when considering debt, it's definitely worth looking at the earnings trend. Click here for an interactive snapshot.

Finally, a company can only pay off debt with cold hard cash, not accounting profits. So it's worth checking how much of that EBIT is backed by free cash flow. Over the last three years, MOBASELtd recorded free cash flow worth a fulsome 94% of its EBIT, which is stronger than we'd usually expect. That puts it in a very strong position to pay down debt.

Our View

On the face of it, MOBASELtd's EBIT growth rate left us tentative about the stock, and its level of total liabilities was no more enticing than the one empty restaurant on the busiest night of the year. But on the bright side, its conversion of EBIT to free cash flow is a good sign, and makes us more optimistic. We're quite clear that we consider MOBASELtd to be really rather risky, as a result of its balance sheet health. For this reason we're pretty cautious about the stock, and we think shareholders should keep a close eye on its liquidity. 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 example, we've discovered 3 warning signs for MOBASELtd (2 can't be ignored!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

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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