Some say volatility, rather than debt, is the best way to think about risk as an investor, but Warren Buffett famously said that 'Volatility is far from synonymous with risk.' 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. Importantly, Jinyuan EP Co., Ltd. (SZSE:000546) does carry debt. But the real question is whether this debt is making the company risky.

Why Does Debt Bring Risk?

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 common (but still painful) scenario is that it has to raise new equity capital at a low price, thus permanently diluting shareholders. 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. When we think about a company's use of debt, we first look at cash and debt together.

How Much Debt Does Jinyuan EP Carry?

The image below, which you can click on for greater detail, shows that Jinyuan EP had debt of CN¥1.37b at the end of September 2023, a reduction from CN¥1.51b over a year. On the flip side, it has CN¥196.0m in cash leading to net debt of about CN¥1.17b.

How Strong Is Jinyuan EP's Balance Sheet?

We can see from the most recent balance sheet that Jinyuan EP had liabilities of CN¥1.99b falling due within a year, and liabilities of CN¥972.8m due beyond that. On the other hand, it had cash of CN¥196.0m and CN¥2.06b worth of receivables due within a year. So its liabilities outweigh the sum of its cash and (near-term) receivables by CN¥705.6m.

Since publicly traded Jinyuan EP shares are worth a total of CN¥4.47b, it seems unlikely that this level of liabilities would be a major threat. But there are sufficient liabilities that we would certainly recommend shareholders continue to monitor the balance sheet, going forward. The balance sheet is clearly the area to focus on when you are analysing debt. But you can't view debt in total isolation; since Jinyuan EP 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.

Over 12 months, Jinyuan EP made a loss at the EBIT level, and saw its revenue drop to CN¥2.8b, which is a fall of 54%. That makes us nervous, to say the least.

Caveat Emptor

Not only did Jinyuan EP's revenue slip over the last twelve months, but it also produced negative earnings before interest and tax (EBIT). Indeed, it lost a very considerable CN¥486m at the EBIT level. Considering that alongside the liabilities mentioned above does not give us much confidence that company should be using so much debt. So we think its balance sheet is a little strained, though not beyond repair. Another cause for caution is that is bled CN¥324m in negative free cash flow over the last twelve months. So in short it's a really risky stock. 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 Jinyuan EP has 2 warning signs (and 1 which is significant) we think you should know about.

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.