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 Alpha Group (SZSE:002292) does use debt in its business. But the real question is whether this debt is making the company risky.

Why Does Debt Bring Risk?

Debt assists a business until the business has trouble paying it off, either with new capital or with free cash flow. In the worst case scenario, a company can go bankrupt if it cannot pay its creditors. 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. 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. The first thing to do when considering how much debt a business uses is to look at its cash and debt together.

See our latest analysis for Alpha Group

How Much Debt Does Alpha Group Carry?

As you can see below, Alpha Group had CN¥808.3m of debt at September 2023, down from CN¥1.15b a year prior. However, it does have CN¥465.3m in cash offsetting this, leading to net debt of about CN¥343.0m.

How Strong Is Alpha Group's Balance Sheet?

Zooming in on the latest balance sheet data, we can see that Alpha Group had liabilities of CN¥1.35b due within 12 months and liabilities of CN¥251.7m due beyond that. On the other hand, it had cash of CN¥465.3m and CN¥472.5m worth of receivables due within a year. So it has liabilities totalling CN¥660.5m more than its cash and near-term receivables, combined.

Of course, Alpha Group has a market capitalization of CN¥12.3b, so these liabilities are probably manageable. However, we do think it is worth keeping an eye on its balance sheet strength, as it may change over time. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. But it is future earnings, more than anything, that will determine Alpha Group's ability to maintain a healthy balance sheet going forward. So if you're focused on the future you can check out this free report showing analyst profit forecasts.

In the last year Alpha Group's revenue was pretty flat, and it made a negative EBIT. While that's not too bad, we'd prefer see growth.

Caveat Emptor

Over the last twelve months Alpha Group produced an earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) loss. Indeed, it lost CN¥51m at the EBIT level. When we look at that and recall the liabilities on its balance sheet, relative to cash, it seems unwise to us for the company to have any debt. So we think its balance sheet is a little strained, though not beyond repair. For example, we would not want to see a repeat of last year's loss of CN¥78m. So to be blunt we do think it is risky. There's no doubt that we learn most about debt from the balance sheet. However, not all investment risk resides within the balance sheet - far from it. For example - Alpha Group 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.