Is Pensonic Holdings Berhad (KLSE:PENSONI) A Risky Investment?

Howard Marks put it nicely when he said that, rather than worrying about share price volatility, 'The possibility of permanent loss is the risk I worry about... and every practical investor I know worries about.' 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 Pensonic Holdings Berhad (KLSE:PENSONI) does use debt in its business. But should shareholders be worried about its use of debt?

What Risk Does Debt Bring?

Debt assists a business until the business has trouble paying it off, either with new capital or with free cash flow. In the worst case scenario, a company can go bankrupt if it cannot pay its creditors. While that is not too common, we often do see indebted companies permanently diluting shareholders because lenders force them to raise capital at a distressed price. Of course, the upside of debt is that it often represents cheap capital, especially when it replaces dilution in a company with the ability to reinvest at high rates of return. When we think about a company's use of debt, we first look at cash and debt together.

See our latest analysis for Pensonic Holdings Berhad

What Is Pensonic Holdings Berhad's Debt?

You can click the graphic below for the historical numbers, but it shows that as of November 2021 Pensonic Holdings Berhad had RM94.9m of debt, an increase on RM79.1m, over one year. However, it also had RM26.7m in cash, and so its net debt is RM68.2m.

How Strong Is Pensonic Holdings Berhad's Balance Sheet?

The latest balance sheet data shows that Pensonic Holdings Berhad had liabilities of RM108.4m due within a year, and liabilities of RM32.7m falling due after that. On the other hand, it had cash of RM26.7m and RM53.6m worth of receivables due within a year. So its liabilities outweigh the sum of its cash and (near-term) receivables by RM60.8m.

This is a mountain of leverage relative to its market capitalization of RM74.9m. This suggests shareholders would be heavily diluted if the company needed to shore up its balance sheet in a hurry.

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.

Pensonic Holdings Berhad's debt is 3.0 times its EBITDA, and its EBIT cover its interest expense 5.8 times over. Taken together this implies that, while we wouldn't want to see debt levels rise, we think it can handle its current leverage. Notably, Pensonic Holdings Berhad's EBIT launched higher than Elon Musk, gaining a whopping 191% on last year. The balance sheet is clearly the area to focus on when you are analysing debt. But you can't view debt in total isolation; since Pensonic Holdings Berhad will need earnings to service that debt. 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.

Finally, a company can only pay off debt with cold hard cash, not accounting profits. So the logical step is to look at the proportion of that EBIT that is matched by actual free cash flow. In the last three years, Pensonic Holdings Berhad's free cash flow amounted to 45% of its EBIT, less than we'd expect. That's not great, when it comes to paying down debt.

Our View

When it comes to the balance sheet, the standout positive for Pensonic Holdings Berhad was the fact that it seems able to grow its EBIT confidently. However, our other observations weren't so heartening. For instance it seems like it has to struggle a bit to handle its total liabilities. Looking at all this data makes us feel a little cautious about Pensonic Holdings Berhad's debt levels. While debt does have its upside in higher potential returns, we think shareholders should definitely consider how debt levels might make the stock more risky. There's no doubt that we learn most about debt from the balance sheet. However, not all investment risk resides within the balance sheet - far from it. For example, we've discovered 3 warning signs for Pensonic Holdings Berhad (1 is significant!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

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.

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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.