These 4 Measures Indicate That Sesoda (TPE:1708) Is Using Debt In A Risky Way

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.' 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. We can see that Sesoda Corporation (TPE:1708) does use debt in its business. But is this debt a concern to shareholders?

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. 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, debt can be an important tool in businesses, particularly capital heavy businesses. The first step when considering a company's debt levels is to consider its cash and debt together.

See our latest analysis for Sesoda

What Is Sesoda's Debt?

As you can see below, Sesoda had NT$5.09b of debt at December 2020, down from NT$5.63b a year prior. However, it does have NT$965.3m in cash offsetting this, leading to net debt of about NT$4.12b.

A Look At Sesoda's Liabilities

Zooming in on the latest balance sheet data, we can see that Sesoda had liabilities of NT$2.34b due within 12 months and liabilities of NT$3.75b due beyond that. Offsetting these obligations, it had cash of NT$965.3m as well as receivables valued at NT$436.4m due within 12 months. So its liabilities total NT$4.68b more than the combination of its cash and short-term receivables.

This deficit is considerable relative to its market capitalization of NT$6.54b, so it does suggest shareholders should keep an eye on Sesoda'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.

With a net debt to EBITDA ratio of 5.7, it's fair to say Sesoda does have a significant amount of debt. But the good news is that it boasts fairly comforting interest cover of 2.7 times, suggesting it can responsibly service its obligations. Worse, Sesoda's EBIT was down 43% over the last year. If earnings keep going like that over the long term, it has a snowball's chance in hell of paying off that debt. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. But you can't view debt in total isolation; since Sesoda will need earnings to service that debt. So when considering debt, it's definitely worth looking at the earnings trend. Click here for an interactive snapshot.

Finally, a company can only pay off debt with cold hard cash, not accounting profits. So it's worth checking how much of that EBIT is backed by free cash flow. Over the last three years, Sesoda saw substantial negative free cash flow, in total. While investors are no doubt expecting a reversal of that situation in due course, it clearly does mean its use of debt is more risky.

Our View

On the face of it, Sesoda's conversion of EBIT to free cash flow left us tentative about the stock, and its EBIT growth rate was no more enticing than the one empty restaurant on the busiest night of the year. And even its interest cover fails to inspire much confidence. Taking into account all the aforementioned factors, it looks like Sesoda has too much debt. That sort of riskiness is ok for some, but it certainly doesn't float our boat. There's no doubt that we learn most about debt from the balance sheet. 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 4 warning signs for Sesoda (of which 2 can't be ignored!) you should know about.

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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