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.' 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. As with many other companies Tangrenshen Group Co., Ltd (SZSE:002567) makes use of debt. But is this debt a concern to shareholders?

When Is Debt Dangerous?

Debt assists a business until the business has trouble paying it off, either with new capital or with free cash flow. 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. 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 Tangrenshen Group

How Much Debt Does Tangrenshen Group Carry?

You can click the graphic below for the historical numbers, but it shows that as of September 2023 Tangrenshen Group had CN¥7.68b of debt, an increase on CN¥6.14b, over one year. On the flip side, it has CN¥2.96b in cash leading to net debt of about CN¥4.72b.

A Look At Tangrenshen Group's Liabilities

The latest balance sheet data shows that Tangrenshen Group had liabilities of CN¥6.27b due within a year, and liabilities of CN¥6.08b falling due after that. On the other hand, it had cash of CN¥2.96b and CN¥594.3m worth of receivables due within a year. So its liabilities outweigh the sum of its cash and (near-term) receivables by CN¥8.80b.

This deficit is considerable relative to its market capitalization of CN¥9.61b, so it does suggest shareholders should keep an eye on Tangrenshen Group'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 ultimately the future profitability of the business will decide if Tangrenshen Group can strengthen its balance sheet over time. So if you're focused on the future you can check out this free report showing analyst profit forecasts.

Over 12 months, Tangrenshen Group reported revenue of CN¥29b, which is a gain of 19%, although it did not report any earnings before interest and tax. We usually like to see faster growth from unprofitable companies, but each to their own.

Caveat Emptor

Importantly, Tangrenshen Group had an earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) loss over the last year. Indeed, it lost CN¥535m 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 CN¥1.3b of cash over the last year. So in short it's a really risky stock. The balance sheet is clearly the area to focus on when you are analysing debt. 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 Tangrenshen Group (of which 2 are a bit unpleasant!) you should know about.

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.

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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.