Yahoo Finance We Think TWC Enterprises (TSE:TWC) Can Manage Its Debt With Ease
David Iben put it well when he said, 'Volatility is not a risk we care about. What we care about is avoiding the permanent loss of capital.' So it might be obvious that you need to consider debt, when you think about how risky any given stock is, because too much debt can sink a company. We can see that TWC Enterprises Limited (TSE:TWC) does use debt in its business. But is this debt a concern to shareholders?
Why Does Debt Bring Risk?
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. Part and parcel of capitalism is the process of 'creative destruction' where failed businesses are mercilessly liquidated by their bankers. 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. 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.
View our latest analysis for TWC Enterprises
What Is TWC Enterprises's Net Debt?
The image below, which you can click on for greater detail, shows that TWC Enterprises had debt of CA$112.6m at the end of December 2021, a reduction from CA$118.2m over a year. However, it does have CA$204.5m in cash offsetting this, leading to net cash of CA$91.9m.
How Healthy Is TWC Enterprises' Balance Sheet?
The latest balance sheet data shows that TWC Enterprises had liabilities of CA$113.0m due within a year, and liabilities of CA$130.4m falling due after that. Offsetting this, it had CA$204.5m in cash and CA$6.61m in receivables that were due within 12 months. So its liabilities total CA$32.3m more than the combination of its cash and short-term receivables.
Given TWC Enterprises has a market capitalization of CA$466.4m, it's hard to believe these liabilities pose much threat. But there are sufficient liabilities that we would certainly recommend shareholders continue to monitor the balance sheet, going forward. Despite its noteworthy liabilities, TWC Enterprises boasts net cash, so it's fair to say it does not have a heavy debt load!
In addition to that, we're happy to report that TWC Enterprises has boosted its EBIT by 62%, thus reducing the spectre of future debt repayments. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. But it is TWC Enterprises'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. While TWC Enterprises has net cash on its balance sheet, it's still worth taking a look at its ability to convert earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) to free cash flow, to help us understand how quickly it is building (or eroding) that cash balance. Over the last three years, TWC Enterprises actually produced more free cash flow than EBIT. That sort of strong cash conversion gets us as excited as the crowd when the beat drops at a Daft Punk concert.
Summing up
While it is always sensible to look at a company's total liabilities, it is very reassuring that TWC Enterprises has CA$91.9m in net cash. The cherry on top was that in converted 182% of that EBIT to free cash flow, bringing in CA$44m. So is TWC Enterprises's debt a risk? It doesn't seem so to us. 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. These risks can be hard to spot. Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for TWC Enterprises you should know about.
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.
