Here's Why SugarBud Craft Growers (CVE:SUGR) Can Afford Some Debt

Warren Buffett famously said, 'Volatility is far from synonymous with risk.' 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, SugarBud Craft Growers Corp. (CVE:SUGR) does carry debt. But the more important question is: how much risk is that debt creating?

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. While that is not too common, we often do see indebted companies permanently diluting shareholders because lenders force them to raise capital at a distressed price. 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. The first step when considering a company's debt levels is to consider its cash and debt together.

View our latest analysis for SugarBud Craft Growers

What Is SugarBud Craft Growers's Debt?

The image below, which you can click on for greater detail, shows that at March 2021 SugarBud Craft Growers had debt of CA$5.23m, up from CA$2.11m in one year. On the flip side, it has CA$2.59m in cash leading to net debt of about CA$2.64m.

How Healthy Is SugarBud Craft Growers' Balance Sheet?

The latest balance sheet data shows that SugarBud Craft Growers had liabilities of CA$2.91m due within a year, and liabilities of CA$5.16m falling due after that. On the other hand, it had cash of CA$2.59m and CA$122.5k worth of receivables due within a year. So its liabilities outweigh the sum of its cash and (near-term) receivables by CA$5.35m.

While this might seem like a lot, it is not so bad since SugarBud Craft Growers has a market capitalization of CA$25.1m, and so it could probably strengthen its balance sheet by raising capital if it needed to. But we definitely want to keep our eyes open to indications that its debt is bringing too much risk. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. But you can't view debt in total isolation; since SugarBud Craft Growers will need earnings to service that debt. So when considering debt, it's definitely worth looking at the earnings trend. Click here for an interactive snapshot.

In the last year SugarBud Craft Growers managed to produce its first revenue as a listed company, but given the lack of profit, shareholders will no doubt be hoping to see some strong increases.

Caveat Emptor

Over the last twelve months SugarBud Craft Growers produced an earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) loss. Indeed, it lost CA$566k at the EBIT level. Considering that alongside the liabilities mentioned above does not give us much confidence that company should be using so much debt. Quite frankly we think the balance sheet is far from match-fit, although it could be improved with time. However, it doesn't help that it burned through CA$6.7m 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. However, not all investment risk resides within the balance sheet - far from it. For instance, we've identified 5 warning signs for SugarBud Craft Growers (2 are concerning) you should be aware of.

If you're interested in investing in businesses that can grow profits without the burden of debt, then check out this free list of growing businesses that have net cash on the balance sheet.

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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. 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.
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