Does H.B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL) Have A Healthy Balance Sheet?
Does H.B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL) Have A Healthy Balance Sheet?
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 seems the smart money knows that debt - which is usually involved in bankruptcies - is a very important factor, when you assess how risky a company is. We can see that H.B. Fuller Company (NYSE:FUL) does use debt in its business. But should shareholders be worried about its use of debt?
受伯克希尔·哈撒韦的查理·芒格支持的外部基金经理李路毫不掩饰地说:"最大的投资风险不是价格波动,而是你是否会遭受永久性资本损失。" 所以,似乎聪明的钱知道债务 - 通常涉及破产 - 是评估公司风险时一个非常重要的因素。我们可以看到富乐公司(纽交所:FUL)在其业务中确实使用了债务。但股东是否应该担心其债务的使用?
When Is Debt Dangerous?
债务何时会变得危险?
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. Part and parcel of capitalism is the process of 'creative destruction' where failed businesses are mercilessly liquidated by their bankers. 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 examine debt levels, we first consider both cash and debt levels, together.
债务是帮助企业成长的工具,但如果企业无法偿还其债务人,那么它就完全处于他们的控制之下。资本主义的一个重要组成部分是"创造性破坏"的过程,在此过程中,失败的企业被其银行家毫不留情地清算。虽然这种情况并不常见,但我们确实经常看到负债公司因债权人的迫使而以低迷价格再融资,从而导致股东的永久性稀释。然而,通过替代稀释,债务可以成为需要资本以高回报率投资增长的企业的一个极好工具。当我们检查债务水平时,我们首先考虑现金和债务水平的综合。
How Much Debt Does H.B. Fuller Carry?
富乐公司的债务有多少?
The image below, which you can click on for greater detail, shows that at August 2024 H.B. Fuller had debt of US$2.14b, up from US$1.94b in one year. On the flip side, it has US$131.4m in cash leading to net debt of about US$2.01b.
下图可以点击以获取更详细信息,显示截至2024年8月,富乐公司的债务为21.4亿美金,较去年增加了19.4亿美金。另一方面,此外它有现金13140万美金,导致净债务约为20.1亿美金。

A Look At H.B. Fuller's Liabilities
关于富乐的负债情况
According to the last reported balance sheet, H.B. Fuller had liabilities of US$704.9m due within 12 months, and liabilities of US$2.43b due beyond 12 months. Offsetting this, it had US$131.4m in cash and US$574.8m in receivables that were due within 12 months. So its liabilities outweigh the sum of its cash and (near-term) receivables by US$2.43b.
根据最近报告的资产负债表,富乐的负债为70490万美元,12个月内到期,且负债为24.3亿美元,超过12个月到期。相对而言,它在现金方面有13140万美元,及57480万美元的应收账款将在12个月内到期。因此,其负债超过现金和(短期)应收款项的总和24.3亿美元。
While this might seem like a lot, it is not so bad since H.B. Fuller has a market capitalization of US$4.13b, and so it could probably strengthen its balance sheet by raising capital if it needed to. But it's clear that we should definitely closely examine whether it can manage its debt without dilution.
虽然这看起来很多,但情况并不算太糟,因为富乐的市场资本化为41.3亿美元,因此如果需要,可能会通过融资来增强其资产负债表。但显然,我们应该仔细审查它是否能在不稀释的情况下管理其债务。
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). This way, we consider both the absolute quantum of the debt, as well as the interest rates paid on it.
我们通过看净债务与息税折旧及摊销前利润(EBITDA)的比率,以及计算其息税前利润(EBIT)如何轻松地覆盖利息费用(利息覆盖)来衡量一家公司相对于其获利能力的债务负担。这样,我们既考虑了债务的绝对量,也考虑了其支付的利率。
While H.B. Fuller's debt to EBITDA ratio (3.4) suggests that it uses some debt, its interest cover is very weak, at 2.4, suggesting high leverage. It seems clear that the cost of borrowing money is negatively impacting returns for shareholders, of late. However, one redeeming factor is that H.B. Fuller grew its EBIT at 14% over the last 12 months, boosting its ability to handle its debt. 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 H.B. Fuller 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.
虽然富乐的债务与EBITDA比率(3.4)表明它使用了一些债务,但其利息覆盖率非常疲弱,仅为2.4,这表明杠杆率高。显然,借款成本正在对股东的回报产生负面影响。然而,有一个值得称道的因素是,富乐在过去12个月中EBIT增长了14%,增强了其处理债务的能力。毫无疑问,我们从资产负债表中学习到大部分有关债务的知识。但最终,业务的未来盈利能力将决定富乐能否随着时间增强其资产负债表。因此,如果您关注未来,可以查看这份显示分析师利润预测的免费报告。
Finally, a company can only pay off debt with cold hard cash, not accounting profits. So it's worth checking how much of that EBIT is backed by free cash flow. In the last three years, H.B. Fuller's free cash flow amounted to 46% of its EBIT, less than we'd expect. That's not great, when it comes to paying down debt.
最后,公司只能用现金偿还债务,而不是会计利润。因此值得检查一下EBIT中有多少是由自由现金流支持的。在过去三年中,富乐的自由现金流占其EBIT的46%,低于我们的预期。就偿还债务而言,这并不理想。
Our View
我们的观点
H.B. Fuller's struggle to cover its interest expense with its EBIT had us second guessing its balance sheet strength, but the other data-points we considered were relatively redeeming. But on the bright side, its ability to to grow its EBIT isn't too shabby at all. We think that H.B. Fuller's debt does make it a bit risky, after considering the aforementioned data points together. That's not necessarily a bad thing, since leverage can boost returns on equity, but it is something to be aware of. 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. We've identified 1 warning sign with H.B. Fuller , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.
富乐在利息支出与其EBIT之间的挣扎让我们对其资产负债表的强度产生了怀疑,但我们考虑的其他数据点则相对令人鼓舞。 不过,从好的方面来看,它的EBIT增长能力并不是很好。 我们认为,富乐的债务确实让它有一点风险,考虑到上述数据点的结合。 这未必是坏事,因为杠杆可以提高股本回报,但这是需要注意的一点。 在分析债务水平时,资产负债表是开始的显然地方。然而,并不是所有的投资风险都存在于资产负债表中——远非如此。 我们已经发现富乐有一个警告信号,理解这些信号应该是您投资过程的一部分。
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.
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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