Intellego Technologies (STO:INT) Seems To Use Debt Quite Sensibly

Some say volatility, rather than debt, is the best way to think about risk as an investor, but Warren Buffett famously said that 'Volatility is far from synonymous with risk.' 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 Intellego Technologies AB (STO:INT) does use debt in its business. But the more important question is: how much risk is that debt creating?

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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. Part and parcel of capitalism is the process of 'creative destruction' where failed businesses are mercilessly liquidated by their bankers. 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. The first step when considering a company's debt levels is to consider its cash and debt together.

How Much Debt Does Intellego Technologies Carry?

As you can see below, Intellego Technologies had kr31.5m of debt at June 2025, down from kr33.2m a year prior. But on the other hand it also has kr100.3m in cash, leading to a kr68.8m net cash position.

How Healthy Is Intellego Technologies' Balance Sheet?

Zooming in on the latest balance sheet data, we can see that Intellego Technologies had liabilities of kr136.2m due within 12 months and liabilities of kr46.0m due beyond that. On the other hand, it had cash of kr100.3m and kr411.1m worth of receivables due within a year. So it can boast kr329.2m more liquid assets than total liabilities.

This surplus suggests that Intellego Technologies has a conservative balance sheet, and could probably eliminate its debt without much difficulty. Simply put, the fact that Intellego Technologies has more cash than debt is arguably a good indication that it can manage its debt safely.

See our latest analysis for Intellego Technologies

Better yet, Intellego Technologies grew its EBIT by 203% last year, which is an impressive improvement. That boost will make it even easier to pay down debt going forward. The balance sheet is clearly the area to focus on when you are analysing debt. But ultimately the future profitability of the business will decide if Intellego Technologies can strengthen its balance sheet over time. So if you're focused on the future you can check out this free report showing analyst profit forecasts.

But our final consideration is also important, because a company cannot pay debt with paper profits; it needs cold hard cash. While Intellego Technologies has net cash on its balance sheet, it's still worth taking a look at its ability to convert earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) to free cash flow, to help us understand how quickly it is building (or eroding) that cash balance. Over the last three years, Intellego Technologies recorded negative free cash flow, in total. Debt is far more risky for companies with unreliable free cash flow, so shareholders should be hoping that the past expenditure will produce free cash flow in the future.

Summing Up

While it is always sensible to investigate a company's debt, in this case Intellego Technologies has kr68.8m in net cash and a decent-looking balance sheet. And it impressed us with its EBIT growth of 203% over the last year. So we don't think Intellego Technologies's use of debt is 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. These risks can be hard to spot. Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Intellego Technologies (of which 1 is significant!) 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.