Is Apacer Technology (TPE:8271) A Risky Investment?

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. As with many other companies Apacer Technology Inc. (TPE:8271) makes use of debt. But the real question is whether this debt is making the company risky.

When Is Debt A Problem?

Debt is a tool to help businesses grow, but if a business is incapable of paying off its lenders, then it exists at their mercy. If things get really bad, the lenders can take control of the business. 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, plenty of companies use debt to fund growth, without any negative consequences. The first thing to do when considering how much debt a business uses is to look at its cash and debt together.

View our latest analysis for Apacer Technology

What Is Apacer Technology's Net Debt?

The image below, which you can click on for greater detail, shows that at September 2020 Apacer Technology had debt of NT$87.3m, up from NT$46.5m in one year. However, its balance sheet shows it holds NT$1.01b in cash, so it actually has NT$922.0m net cash.

How Healthy Is Apacer Technology's Balance Sheet?

We can see from the most recent balance sheet that Apacer Technology had liabilities of NT$1.01b falling due within a year, and liabilities of NT$45.5m due beyond that. Offsetting this, it had NT$1.01b in cash and NT$843.5m in receivables that were due within 12 months. So it actually has NT$796.5m more liquid assets than total liabilities.

It's good to see that Apacer Technology has plenty of liquidity on its balance sheet, suggesting conservative management of liabilities. Because it has plenty of assets, it is unlikely to have trouble with its lenders. Simply put, the fact that Apacer Technology has more cash than debt is arguably a good indication that it can manage its debt safely.

On the other hand, Apacer Technology's EBIT dived 13%, over the last year. If that rate of decline in earnings continues, the company could find itself in a tight spot. The balance sheet is clearly the area to focus on when you are analysing debt. But it is Apacer Technology'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. Apacer Technology may have net cash on the balance sheet, but it is still interesting to look at how well the business converts its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) to free cash flow, because that will influence both its need for, and its capacity to manage debt. Over the last three years, Apacer Technology actually produced more free cash flow than EBIT. That sort of strong cash generation warms our hearts like a puppy in a bumblebee suit.

Summing up

While we empathize with investors who find debt concerning, you should keep in mind that Apacer Technology has net cash of NT$922.0m, as well as more liquid assets than liabilities. The cherry on top was that in converted 163% of that EBIT to free cash flow, bringing in NT$306m. So we don't think Apacer Technology'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. To that end, you should be aware of the 1 warning sign we've spotted with Apacer Technology .

If you're interested in investing in businesses that can grow profits without the burden of debt, then check out this free list of growing businesses that have net cash on the balance sheet.

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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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