Sing Holdings (SGX:5IC) Seems To Use Debt Quite Sensibly

The external fund manager backed by Berkshire Hathaway's Charlie Munger, Li Lu, makes no bones about it when he says 'The biggest investment risk is not the volatility of prices, but whether you will suffer a permanent loss of capital.' When we think about how risky a company is, we always like to look at its use of debt, since debt overload can lead to ruin. As with many other companies Sing Holdings Limited (SGX:5IC) makes use of debt. But should shareholders be worried about its use of debt?

When Is Debt Dangerous?

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. 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, 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 thing to do when considering how much debt a business uses is to look at its cash and debt together.

Check out our latest analysis for Sing Holdings

What Is Sing Holdings's Debt?

As you can see below, at the end of December 2020, Sing Holdings had S$159.2m of debt, up from S$117.7m a year ago. Click the image for more detail. On the flip side, it has S$128.2m in cash leading to net debt of about S$31.0m.

How Healthy Is Sing Holdings' Balance Sheet?

According to the last reported balance sheet, Sing Holdings had liabilities of S$173.0m due within 12 months, and liabilities of S$29.9m due beyond 12 months. On the other hand, it had cash of S$128.2m and S$208.2m worth of receivables due within a year. So it can boast S$133.6m more liquid assets than total liabilities.

This surplus strongly suggests that Sing Holdings has a rock-solid balance sheet (and the debt is of no concern whatsoever). On this view, lenders should feel as safe as the beloved of a black-belt karate master.

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). This way, we consider both the absolute quantum of the debt, as well as the interest rates paid on it.

Sing Holdings's net debt is only 0.69 times its EBITDA. And its EBIT covers its interest expense a whopping 43.9 times over. So we're pretty relaxed about its super-conservative use of debt. In fact Sing Holdings's saving grace is its low debt levels, because its EBIT has tanked 51% in the last twelve months. When a company sees its earnings tank, it can sometimes find its relationships with its lenders turn sour. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. But it is Sing Holdings's earnings that will influence how the balance sheet holds up in the future. 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, while the tax-man may adore accounting profits, lenders only accept cold hard cash. So we clearly need to look at whether that EBIT is leading to corresponding free cash flow. Looking at the most recent three years, Sing Holdings recorded free cash flow of 50% of its EBIT, which is weaker than we'd expect. That's not great, when it comes to paying down debt.

Our View

Sing Holdings'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 the stark truth is that we are concerned by its EBIT growth rate. When we consider the range of factors above, it looks like Sing Holdings is pretty sensible with its use of debt. While that brings some risk, it can also enhance returns for shareholders. The balance sheet is clearly the area to focus on when you are analysing debt. But ultimately, every company can contain risks that exist outside of the balance sheet. For instance, we've identified 3 warning signs for Sing Holdings (1 shouldn't be ignored) you should be aware of.

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. 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.
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