RocTool (EPA:ALROC) Is Making Moderate Use Of Debt
Legendary fund manager Li Lu (who Charlie Munger backed) once said, '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. Importantly, RocTool S.A. (EPA:ALROC) does carry debt. But should shareholders be worried about its use of debt?
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. Ultimately, if the company can't fulfill its legal obligations to repay debt, shareholders could walk away with nothing. However, a more common (but still painful) scenario is that it has to raise new equity capital at a low price, thus permanently diluting shareholders. Of course, plenty of companies use debt to fund growth, without any negative consequences. The first thing to do when considering how much debt a business uses is to look at its cash and debt together.
What Is RocTool's Debt?
The image below, which you can click on for greater detail, shows that RocTool had debt of €1.53m at the end of June 2025, a reduction from €1.64m over a year. However, it does have €480.0k in cash offsetting this, leading to net debt of about €1.05m.
A Look At RocTool's Liabilities
Zooming in on the latest balance sheet data, we can see that RocTool had liabilities of €2.17m due within 12 months and liabilities of €1.74m due beyond that. Offsetting this, it had €480.0k in cash and €2.07m in receivables that were due within 12 months. So its liabilities outweigh the sum of its cash and (near-term) receivables by €1.37m.
This deficit is considerable relative to its market capitalization of €2.24m, so it does suggest shareholders should keep an eye on RocTool's use of debt. Should its lenders demand that it shore up the balance sheet, shareholders would likely face severe dilution. The balance sheet is clearly the area to focus on when you are analysing debt. But you can't view debt in total isolation; since RocTool will need earnings to service that debt. So if you're keen to discover more about its earnings, it might be worth checking out this graph of its long term earnings trend.
View our latest analysis for RocTool
Over 12 months, RocTool made a loss at the EBIT level, and saw its revenue drop to €5.9m, which is a fall of 18%. That's not what we would hope to see.
Caveat Emptor
While RocTool's falling revenue is about as heartwarming as a wet blanket, arguably its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) loss is even less appealing. Indeed, it lost a very considerable €1.6m 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. However, it doesn't help that it burned through €440k of cash over the last year. So suffice it to say we consider the stock very risky. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. But ultimately, every company can contain risks that exist outside of the balance sheet. These risks can be hard to spot. Every company has them, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for RocTool you should know about.
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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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.