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. We can see that COFCO Capital Holdings Co., Ltd. (SZSE:002423) does use debt in its business. But is this debt a concern to shareholders?

What Risk Does Debt Bring?

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. 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. 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 step when considering a company's debt levels is to consider its cash and debt together.

What Is COFCO Capital Holdings's Net Debt?

As you can see below, COFCO Capital Holdings had CN¥6.73b of debt at March 2024, down from CN¥14.5b a year prior. However, it does have CN¥37.0b in cash offsetting this, leading to net cash of CN¥30.3b.

How Healthy Is COFCO Capital Holdings' Balance Sheet?

According to the last reported balance sheet, COFCO Capital Holdings had liabilities of CN¥38.2b due within 12 months, and liabilities of CN¥66.3b due beyond 12 months. Offsetting this, it had CN¥37.0b in cash and CN¥3.36b in receivables that were due within 12 months. So its liabilities total CN¥64.1b more than the combination of its cash and short-term receivables.

The deficiency here weighs heavily on the CN¥19.5b company itself, as if a child were struggling under the weight of an enormous back-pack full of books, his sports gear, and a trumpet. So we definitely think shareholders need to watch this one closely. At the end of the day, COFCO Capital Holdings would probably need a major re-capitalization if its creditors were to demand repayment. Given that COFCO Capital Holdings has more cash than debt, we're pretty confident it can handle its debt, despite the fact that it has a lot of liabilities in total.

Shareholders should be aware that COFCO Capital Holdings's EBIT was down 61% last year. If that earnings trend continues then paying off its debt will be about as easy as herding cats on to a roller coaster. There's no doubt that we learn most about debt from the balance sheet. But ultimately the future profitability of the business will decide if COFCO Capital Holdings can strengthen its balance sheet over time. So if you want to see what the professionals think, you might find this free report on analyst profit forecasts to be interesting.

Finally, while the tax-man may adore accounting profits, lenders only accept cold hard cash. COFCO Capital Holdings 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, COFCO Capital Holdings actually produced more free cash flow than EBIT. There's nothing better than incoming cash when it comes to staying in your lenders' good graces.

Summing Up

Although COFCO Capital Holdings's balance sheet isn't particularly strong, due to the total liabilities, it is clearly positive to see that it has net cash of CN¥30.3b. The cherry on top was that in converted 313% of that EBIT to free cash flow, bringing in CN¥8.9b. Despite the cash, we do find COFCO Capital Holdings's level of total liabilities concerning, so we're not particularly comfortable with the stock. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. But ultimately, every company can contain risks that exist outside of the balance sheet. For instance, we've identified 2 warning signs for COFCO Capital Holdings that you should be aware of.

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.