Legendary fund manager Li Lu (who Charlie Munger backed) once said, '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. Importantly, Enerpac Tool Group Corp. (NYSE:EPAC) does carry debt. But the real question is whether this debt is making the company risky.

Why Does Debt Bring Risk?

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. 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. Having said that, the most common situation is where a company manages its debt reasonably well - and to its own advantage. When we think about a company's use of debt, we first look at cash and debt together.

What Is Enerpac Tool Group's Net Debt?

You can click the graphic below for the historical numbers, but it shows that as of November 2023 Enerpac Tool Group had US$244.5m of debt, an increase on US$202.2m, over one year. However, it also had US$148.0m in cash, and so its net debt is US$96.5m.

How Healthy Is Enerpac Tool Group's Balance Sheet?

According to the last reported balance sheet, Enerpac Tool Group had liabilities of US$127.0m due within 12 months, and liabilities of US$316.9m due beyond 12 months. Offsetting this, it had US$148.0m in cash and US$101.4m in receivables that were due within 12 months. So its liabilities total US$194.5m more than the combination of its cash and short-term receivables.

Of course, Enerpac Tool Group has a market capitalization of US$1.88b, so these liabilities are probably manageable. Having said that, it's clear that we should continue to monitor its balance sheet, lest it change for the worse.

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). Thus we consider debt relative to earnings both with and without depreciation and amortization expenses.

Enerpac Tool Group has a low net debt to EBITDA ratio of only 0.67. And its EBIT covers its interest expense a whopping 10.4 times over. So we're pretty relaxed about its super-conservative use of debt. Even more impressive was the fact that Enerpac Tool Group grew its EBIT by 107% over twelve months. 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 Enerpac Tool Group 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.

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. During the last three years, Enerpac Tool Group produced sturdy free cash flow equating to 55% of its EBIT, about what we'd expect. This free cash flow puts the company in a good position to pay down debt, when appropriate.

Our View

Happily, Enerpac Tool Group's impressive EBIT growth rate implies it has the upper hand on its debt. And that's just the beginning of the good news since its interest cover is also very heartening. Zooming out, Enerpac Tool Group seems to use debt quite reasonably; and that gets the nod from us. While debt does bring risk, when used wisely it can also bring a higher return on equity. 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 example - Enerpac Tool Group has 1 warning sign we think 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. 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.