Here's Why Pure Foods Tasmania (ASX:PFT) Can Afford Some Debt

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 Pure Foods Tasmania Limited (ASX:PFT) does use debt in its business. But the more important question is: how much risk is that debt creating?

What Risk Does Debt Bring?

Debt is a tool to help businesses grow, but if a business is incapable of paying off its lenders, then it exists at their mercy. 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. Of course, debt can be an important tool in businesses, particularly capital heavy businesses. The first step when considering a company's debt levels is to consider its cash and debt together.

See our latest analysis for Pure Foods Tasmania

What Is Pure Foods Tasmania's Debt?

The image below, which you can click on for greater detail, shows that at December 2023 Pure Foods Tasmania had debt of AU$5.29m, up from AU$4.11m in one year. However, it does have AU$3.49m in cash offsetting this, leading to net debt of about AU$1.80m.

A Look At Pure Foods Tasmania's Liabilities

The latest balance sheet data shows that Pure Foods Tasmania had liabilities of AU$5.62m due within a year, and liabilities of AU$4.03m falling due after that. On the other hand, it had cash of AU$3.49m and AU$1.71m worth of receivables due within a year. So it has liabilities totalling AU$4.45m more than its cash and near-term receivables, combined.

This is a mountain of leverage relative to its market capitalization of AU$6.51m. This suggests shareholders would be heavily diluted if the company needed to shore up its balance sheet in a hurry. 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 Pure Foods Tasmania 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.

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

Caveat Emptor

Importantly, Pure Foods Tasmania had an earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) loss over the last year. Indeed, it lost a very considerable AU$2.9m 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. Quite frankly we think the balance sheet is far from match-fit, although it could be improved with time. Another cause for caution is that is bled AU$2.9m in negative free cash flow over the last twelve months. So in short it's a really risky stock. 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 instance, we've identified 3 warning signs for Pure Foods Tasmania that you should be aware of.

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.