Is Gamuda Berhad (KLSE:GAMUDA) 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 Gamuda Berhad (KLSE:GAMUDA) makes use of debt. But the real question is whether this debt is making the company risky.

When Is Debt A Problem?

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. 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.

View our latest analysis for Gamuda Berhad

What Is Gamuda Berhad's Debt?

The image below, which you can click on for greater detail, shows that Gamuda Berhad had debt of RM5.23b at the end of July 2021, a reduction from RM5.47b over a year. However, because it has a cash reserve of RM3.56b, its net debt is less, at about RM1.67b.

How Strong Is Gamuda Berhad's Balance Sheet?

Zooming in on the latest balance sheet data, we can see that Gamuda Berhad had liabilities of RM4.48b due within 12 months and liabilities of RM4.43b due beyond that. On the other hand, it had cash of RM3.56b and RM3.30b worth of receivables due within a year. So it has liabilities totalling RM2.05b more than its cash and near-term receivables, combined.

This deficit isn't so bad because Gamuda Berhad is worth RM7.09b, and thus could probably raise enough capital to shore up 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.

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.

Gamuda Berhad's net debt is 2.8 times its EBITDA, which is a significant but still reasonable amount of leverage. However, its interest coverage of 14.8 is very high, suggesting that the interest expense on the debt is currently quite low. Gamuda Berhad grew its EBIT by 7.6% in the last year. Whilst that hardly knocks our socks off it is a positive when it comes to debt. The balance sheet is clearly the area to focus on when you are analysing debt. But it is future earnings, more than anything, that will determine Gamuda Berhad'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 the logical step is to look at the proportion of that EBIT that is matched by actual free cash flow. During the last three years, Gamuda Berhad generated free cash flow amounting to a very robust 94% of its EBIT, more than we'd expect. That positions it well to pay down debt if desirable to do so.

Our View

Gamuda Berhad's interest cover suggests it can handle its debt as easily as Cristiano Ronaldo could score a goal against an under 14's goalkeeper. But, on a more sombre note, we are a little concerned by its net debt to EBITDA. When we consider the range of factors above, it looks like Gamuda Berhad is pretty sensible with its use of debt. That means they are taking on a bit more risk, in the hope of boosting shareholder returns. Above most other metrics, we think its important to track how fast earnings per share is growing, if at all. If you've also come to that realization, you're in luck, because today you can view this interactive graph of Gamuda Berhad's earnings per share history for free.

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. 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.