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.' 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, Zhuhai Port Co.,Ltd. (SZSE:000507) does carry debt. But should shareholders be worried about its use of debt?

Why Does Debt Bring Risk?

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. 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. 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. When we think about a company's use of debt, we first look at cash and debt together.

What Is Zhuhai PortLtd's Debt?

You can click the graphic below for the historical numbers, but it shows that Zhuhai PortLtd had CN¥8.50b of debt in June 2024, down from CN¥9.59b, one year before. However, it does have CN¥3.37b in cash offsetting this, leading to net debt of about CN¥5.14b.

How Strong Is Zhuhai PortLtd's Balance Sheet?

According to the last reported balance sheet, Zhuhai PortLtd had liabilities of CN¥4.59b due within 12 months, and liabilities of CN¥6.10b due beyond 12 months. Offsetting this, it had CN¥3.37b in cash and CN¥1.97b in receivables that were due within 12 months. So it has liabilities totalling CN¥5.35b more than its cash and near-term receivables, combined.

Given this deficit is actually higher than the company's market capitalization of CN¥4.64b, we think shareholders really should watch Zhuhai PortLtd's debt levels, like a parent watching their child ride a bike for the first time. In the scenario where the company had to clean up its balance sheet quickly, it seems likely shareholders would suffer extensive dilution.

In order to size up a company's debt relative to its earnings, we calculate its net debt divided by its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) and its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) divided by its interest expense (its interest cover). This way, we consider both the absolute quantum of the debt, as well as the interest rates paid on it.

Zhuhai PortLtd's net debt is 4.6 times its EBITDA, which is a significant but still reasonable amount of leverage. But its EBIT was about 15.2 times its interest expense, implying the company isn't really paying a high cost to maintain that level of debt. Even were the low cost to prove unsustainable, that is a good sign. Unfortunately, Zhuhai PortLtd saw its EBIT slide 3.9% in the last twelve months. If earnings continue on that decline then managing that debt will be difficult like delivering hot soup on a unicycle. The balance sheet is clearly the area to focus on when you are analysing debt. But it is Zhuhai PortLtd's earnings that will influence how the balance sheet holds up in the future. So when considering debt, it's definitely worth looking at the earnings trend. Click here for an interactive snapshot.

But our final consideration is also important, because a company cannot pay debt with paper profits; it needs cold hard cash. So we always check how much of that EBIT is translated into free cash flow. Happily for any shareholders, Zhuhai PortLtd actually produced more free cash flow than EBIT over the last three years. That sort of strong cash conversion gets us as excited as the crowd when the beat drops at a Daft Punk concert.

Our View

While Zhuhai PortLtd's level of total liabilities has us nervous. For example, its interest cover and conversion of EBIT to free cash flow give us some confidence in its ability to manage its debt. We should also note that Infrastructure industry companies like Zhuhai PortLtd commonly do use debt without problems. Looking at all the angles mentioned above, it does seem to us that Zhuhai PortLtd is a somewhat risky investment as a result of its debt. Not all risk is bad, as it can boost share price returns if it pays off, but this debt risk is worth keeping in mind. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. However, not all investment risk resides within the balance sheet - far from it. For example - Zhuhai PortLtd has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.

If, after all that, you're more interested in a fast growing company with a rock-solid balance sheet, then check out our list of net cash growth stocks without delay.

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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.