Warren Buffett famously said, 'Volatility is far from synonymous with risk.' 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 Tianli International Holdings Limited (HKG:1773) does use debt in its business. But should shareholders be worried about its use of debt?

What Risk Does Debt Bring?

Debt assists a business until the business has trouble paying it off, either with new capital or with free cash flow. Ultimately, if the company can't fulfill its legal obligations to repay debt, shareholders could walk away with nothing. 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, 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.

What Is Tianli International Holdings's Net Debt?

The image below, which you can click on for greater detail, shows that at February 2024 Tianli International Holdings had debt of CN¥1.73b, up from CN¥1.51b in one year. On the flip side, it has CN¥655.3m in cash leading to net debt of about CN¥1.07b.

A Look At Tianli International Holdings' Liabilities

According to the last reported balance sheet, Tianli International Holdings had liabilities of CN¥3.82b due within 12 months, and liabilities of CN¥2.80b due beyond 12 months. On the other hand, it had cash of CN¥655.3m and CN¥718.4m worth of receivables due within a year. So it has liabilities totalling CN¥5.24b more than its cash and near-term receivables, combined.

While this might seem like a lot, it is not so bad since Tianli International Holdings has a market capitalization of CN¥10.9b, and so it could probably strengthen its balance sheet by raising capital if it needed to. However, it is still worthwhile taking a close look at its ability to pay off debt.

We measure a company's debt load relative to its earnings power by looking at its net debt divided by its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) and by calculating how easily its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) cover its interest expense (interest cover). Thus we consider debt relative to earnings both with and without depreciation and amortization expenses.

Tianli International Holdings has a low net debt to EBITDA ratio of only 1.4. And its EBIT covers its interest expense a whopping 10.0 times over. So we're pretty relaxed about its super-conservative use of debt. In addition to that, we're happy to report that Tianli International Holdings has boosted its EBIT by 83%, thus reducing the spectre of future debt repayments. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. But ultimately the future profitability of the business will decide if Tianli International Holdings 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, while the tax-man may adore accounting profits, lenders only accept cold hard cash. So the logical step is to look at the proportion of that EBIT that is matched by actual free cash flow. Looking at the most recent three years, Tianli International Holdings recorded free cash flow of 29% of its EBIT, which is weaker than we'd expect. That's not great, when it comes to paying down debt.

Our View

On our analysis Tianli International Holdings's EBIT growth rate should signal that it won't have too much trouble with its debt. But the other factors we noted above weren't so encouraging. For instance it seems like it has to struggle a bit to convert EBIT to free cash flow. Considering this range of data points, we think Tianli International Holdings is in a good position to manage its debt levels. Having said that, the load is sufficiently heavy that we would recommend any shareholders keep a close eye on it. The balance sheet is clearly the area to focus on when you are analysing debt. However, not all investment risk resides within the balance sheet - far from it. For example - Tianli International Holdings has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.

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. 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.