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.' So it might be obvious that you need to consider debt, when you think about how risky any given stock is, because too much debt can sink a company. Importantly, Wing Tai Holdings Limited (SGX:W05) does carry debt. But the more important question is: how much risk is that debt creating?

What Risk Does Debt Bring?

Generally speaking, debt only becomes a real problem when a company can't easily pay it off, either by raising capital or with its own cash flow. 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. By replacing dilution, though, debt can be an extremely good tool for businesses that need capital to invest in growth at high rates of return. The first step when considering a company's debt levels is to consider its cash and debt together.

What Is Wing Tai Holdings's Net Debt?

The image below, which you can click on for greater detail, shows that at December 2023 Wing Tai Holdings had debt of S$769.7m, up from S$691.7m in one year. However, because it has a cash reserve of S$683.8m, its net debt is less, at about S$85.9m.

How Strong Is Wing Tai Holdings' Balance Sheet?

Zooming in on the latest balance sheet data, we can see that Wing Tai Holdings had liabilities of S$248.0m due within 12 months and liabilities of S$703.7m due beyond that. Offsetting these obligations, it had cash of S$683.8m as well as receivables valued at S$658.2m due within 12 months. So it actually has S$390.3m more liquid assets than total liabilities.

This surplus liquidity suggests that Wing Tai Holdings' balance sheet could take a hit just as well as Homer Simpson's head can take a punch. Having regard to this fact, we think its balance sheet is as strong as an ox.

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.

Wing Tai Holdings shareholders face the double whammy of a high net debt to EBITDA ratio (8.4), and fairly weak interest coverage, since EBIT is just 0.28 times the interest expense. The debt burden here is substantial. Even worse, Wing Tai Holdings saw its EBIT tank 81% over the last 12 months. 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 Wing Tai Holdings will need earnings to service that debt. 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, a business needs free cash flow to pay off debt; accounting profits just don't cut it. So it's worth checking how much of that EBIT is backed by free cash flow. During the last three years, Wing Tai Holdings generated free cash flow amounting to a very robust 93% of its EBIT, more than we'd expect. That positions it well to pay down debt if desirable to do so.

Our View

Wing Tai Holdings's EBIT growth rate was a real negative on this analysis, as was its interest cover. But like a ballerina ending on a perfect pirouette, it has not trouble converting EBIT to free cash flow. When we consider all the factors mentioned above, we do feel a bit cautious about Wing Tai Holdings's use of debt. While we appreciate debt can enhance returns on equity, we'd suggest that shareholders keep close watch on its debt levels, lest they increase. 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. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for Wing Tai Holdings you should be aware of, and 1 of them is a bit concerning.

Of course, if you're the type of investor who prefers buying stocks without the burden of debt, then don't hesitate to discover our exclusive list of net cash growth stocks, today.

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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.