Yahoo Finance Keywords Studios (LON:KWS) Seems To Use Debt Rather Sparingly
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.' 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. We can see that Keywords Studios plc (LON:KWS) does use debt in its business. But the more important question is: how much risk is that debt creating?
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. Part and parcel of capitalism is the process of 'creative destruction' where failed businesses are mercilessly liquidated by their bankers. 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, 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 examine debt levels, we first consider both cash and debt levels, together.
Check out our latest analysis for Keywords Studios
How Much Debt Does Keywords Studios Carry?
The image below, which you can click on for greater detail, shows that at December 2018 Keywords Studios had debt of €40.3m, up from €19.3m in one year. However, because it has a cash reserve of €39.9m, its net debt is less, at about €430.0k.
A Look At Keywords Studios's Liabilities
Zooming in on the latest balance sheet data, we can see that Keywords Studios had liabilities of €95.0m due within 12 months and liabilities of €11.2m due beyond that. On the other hand, it had cash of €39.9m and €58.0m worth of receivables due within a year. So its liabilities total €8.33m more than the combination of its cash and short-term receivables.
This state of affairs indicates that Keywords Studios's balance sheet looks quite solid, as its total liabilities are just about equal to its liquid assets. So while it's hard to imagine that the €1.07b company is struggling for cash, we still think it's worth monitoring its balance sheet. But either way, Keywords Studios has virtually no net debt, so it's fair to say it does not have a heavy debt load!
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.
With debt at a measly 0.011 times EBITDA and EBIT covering interest a whopping 55.7 times, it's clear that Keywords Studios is not a desperate borrower. So relative to past earnings, the debt load seems trivial. In addition to that, we're happy to report that Keywords Studios has boosted its EBIT by 44%, thus reducing the spectre of future debt repayments. There's no doubt that we learn most about debt from the balance sheet. But it is future earnings, more than anything, that will determine Keywords Studios'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.
Finally, a company can only pay off debt with cold hard cash, not accounting profits. So the logical step is to look at the proportion of that EBIT that is matched by actual free cash flow. Over the most recent three years, Keywords Studios recorded free cash flow worth 77% of its EBIT, which is around normal, given free cash flow excludes interest and tax. This free cash flow puts the company in a good position to pay down debt, when appropriate.
Our View
Happily, Keywords Studios's impressive interest cover implies it has the upper hand on its debt. And that's just the beginning of the good news since its EBIT growth rate is also very heartening. It looks Keywords Studios has no trouble standing on its own two feet, and it has no reason to fear its lenders. For investing nerds like us its balance sheet is almost charming. Over time, share prices tend to follow earnings per share, so if you're interested in Keywords Studios, you may well want to click here to check an interactive graph of its earnings per share history.
Of course, if you're the type of investor who prefers buying stocks without the burden of debt, then don't hesitate to discover our exclusive list of net cash growth stocks, today.
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If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
