Does Grupa RECYKL (WSE:GRC) Have A Healthy Balance Sheet?

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. As with many other companies Grupa RECYKL S.A. (WSE:GRC) makes use of debt. But the real question is whether this debt is making the company risky.

When Is Debt A Problem?

Debt and other liabilities become risky for a business when it cannot easily fulfill those obligations, either with free cash flow or by raising capital at an attractive price. Ultimately, if the company can't fulfill its legal obligations to repay debt, shareholders could walk away with nothing. However, a more usual (but still expensive) situation is where a company must dilute shareholders at a cheap share price simply to get debt under control. Of course, debt can be an important tool in businesses, particularly capital heavy businesses. When we think about a company's use of debt, we first look at cash and debt together.

Check out our latest analysis for Grupa RECYKL

What Is Grupa RECYKL's Debt?

The image below, which you can click on for greater detail, shows that Grupa RECYKL had debt of zł33.5m at the end of September 2021, a reduction from zł38.0m over a year. However, it does have zł5.74m in cash offsetting this, leading to net debt of about zł27.8m.

How Healthy Is Grupa RECYKL's Balance Sheet?

We can see from the most recent balance sheet that Grupa RECYKL had liabilities of zł28.6m falling due within a year, and liabilities of zł67.3m due beyond that. Offsetting this, it had zł5.74m in cash and zł19.3m in receivables that were due within 12 months. So its liabilities outweigh the sum of its cash and (near-term) receivables by zł70.9m.

This deficit is considerable relative to its market capitalization of zł104.1m, so it does suggest shareholders should keep an eye on Grupa RECYKL's use of debt. 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.

Grupa RECYKL has a low net debt to EBITDA ratio of only 1.2. And its EBIT covers its interest expense a whopping 11.1 times over. So you could argue it is no more threatened by its debt than an elephant is by a mouse. On top of that, Grupa RECYKL grew its EBIT by 94% over the last twelve months, and that growth will make it easier to handle its debt. The balance sheet is clearly the area to focus on when you are analysing debt. But it is Grupa RECYKL'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.

But our final consideration is also important, because a company cannot pay debt with paper profits; it needs cold hard cash. So the logical step is to look at the proportion of that EBIT that is matched by actual free cash flow. Over the last three years, Grupa RECYKL saw substantial negative free cash flow, in total. While that may be a result of expenditure for growth, it does make the debt far more risky.

Our View

Based on what we've seen Grupa RECYKL is not finding it easy, given its conversion of EBIT to free cash flow, but the other factors we considered give us cause to be optimistic. There's no doubt that its ability to to grow its EBIT is pretty flash. Looking at all this data makes us feel a little cautious about Grupa RECYKL's debt levels. While we appreciate debt can enhance returns on equity, we'd suggest that shareholders keep close watch on its debt levels, lest they increase. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. But ultimately, every company can contain risks that exist outside of the balance sheet. These risks can be hard to spot. Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Grupa RECYKL you should know about.

If, after all that, you're more interested in a fast growing company with a rock-solid balance sheet, then check out our list of net cash growth stocks without delay.

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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.