CanWel Building Materials Group (TSE:CWX) Use Of Debt Could Be Considered Risky
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. Importantly, CanWel Building Materials Group Ltd. (TSE:CWX) does carry debt. But is this debt a concern to shareholders?
When Is Debt A Problem?
Debt and other liabilities become risky for a business when it cannot easily fulfill those obligations, either with free cash flow or by raising capital at an attractive price. If things get really bad, the lenders can take control of the business. However, a more usual (but still expensive) situation is where a company must dilute shareholders at a cheap share price simply to get debt under control. Of course, plenty of companies use debt to fund growth, without any negative consequences. When we examine debt levels, we first consider both cash and debt levels, together.
Check out our latest analysis for CanWel Building Materials Group
What Is CanWel Building Materials Group's Debt?
You can click the graphic below for the historical numbers, but it shows that as of June 2019 CanWel Building Materials Group had CA$422.6m of debt, an increase on CA$366.3m, over one year. And it doesn't have much cash, so its net debt is about the same.
A Look At CanWel Building Materials Group's Liabilities
The latest balance sheet data shows that CanWel Building Materials Group had liabilities of CA$173.7m due within a year, and liabilities of CA$529.3m falling due after that. Offsetting this, it had CA$7.06m in cash and CA$226.4m in receivables that were due within 12 months. So its liabilities total CA$469.5m more than the combination of its cash and short-term receivables.
Given this deficit is actually higher than the company's market capitalization of CA$353.5m, we think shareholders really should watch CanWel Building Materials Group'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.
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). The advantage of this approach is that we take into account both the absolute quantum of debt (with net debt to EBITDA) and the actual interest expenses associated with that debt (with its interest cover ratio).
CanWel Building Materials Group shareholders face the double whammy of a high net debt to EBITDA ratio (7.1), and fairly weak interest coverage, since EBIT is just 2.2 times the interest expense. This means we'd consider it to have a heavy debt load. Even worse, CanWel Building Materials Group saw its EBIT tank 26% over the last 12 months. If earnings continue to follow that trajectory, paying off that debt load will be harder than convincing us to run a marathon in the rain. 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 CanWel Building Materials Group's ability to maintain a healthy balance sheet going forward. So if you want to see what the professionals think, you might find this free report on analyst profit forecasts to be interesting.
Finally, a business needs free cash flow to pay off debt; accounting profits just don't cut it. So it's worth checking how much of that EBIT is backed by free cash flow. Over the last three years, CanWel Building Materials Group recorded negative free cash flow, in total. Debt is usually more expensive, and almost always more risky in the hands of a company with negative free cash flow. Shareholders ought to hope for and improvement.
Our View
On the face of it, CanWel Building Materials Group's net debt to EBITDA left us tentative about the stock, and its EBIT growth rate was no more enticing than the one empty restaurant on the busiest night of the year. And even its level of total liabilities fails to inspire much confidence. We think the chances that CanWel Building Materials Group has too much debt a very significant. To our minds, that means the stock is rather high risk, and probably one to avoid; but to each their own (investing) style. Given our concerns about CanWel Building Materials Group's debt levels, it seems only prudent to check if insiders have been ditching the stock.
At the end of the day, it's often better to focus on companies that are free from net debt. You can access our special list of such companies (all with a track record of profit growth). It's free.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.
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.
