Warren Buffett famously said, 'Volatility is far from synonymous with risk.' When we think about how risky a company is, we always like to look at its use of debt, since debt overload can lead to ruin. Importantly, Laekna, Inc. (HKG:2105) does carry debt. But the more important question is: how much risk is that debt creating?

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. 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, plenty of companies use debt to fund growth, without any negative consequences. The first step when considering a company's debt levels is to consider its cash and debt together.

What Is Laekna's Net Debt?

As you can see below, at the end of June 2024, Laekna had CN¥57.1m of debt, up from CN¥39.8m a year ago. Click the image for more detail. However, its balance sheet shows it holds CN¥656.3m in cash, so it actually has CN¥599.2m net cash.

How Healthy Is Laekna's Balance Sheet?

The latest balance sheet data shows that Laekna had liabilities of CN¥131.6m due within a year, and liabilities of CN¥7.69m falling due after that. Offsetting this, it had CN¥656.3m in cash and CN¥1.09m in receivables that were due within 12 months. So it actually has CN¥518.1m more liquid assets than total liabilities.

It's good to see that Laekna has plenty of liquidity on its balance sheet, suggesting conservative management of liabilities. Given it has easily adequate short term liquidity, we don't think it will have any issues with its lenders. Simply put, the fact that Laekna has more cash than debt is arguably a good indication that it can manage its debt safely. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. But it is Laekna's earnings that will influence how the balance sheet holds up in the future. 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.

Since Laekna doesn't have significant operating revenue, shareholders may be hoping it comes up with a great new product, before it runs out of money.

So How Risky Is Laekna?

We have no doubt that loss making companies are, in general, riskier than profitable ones. And we do note that Laekna had an earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) loss, over the last year. And over the same period it saw negative free cash outflow of CN¥285m and booked a CN¥296m accounting loss. However, it has net cash of CN¥599.2m, so it has a bit of time before it will need more capital. Even though its balance sheet seems sufficiently liquid, debt always makes us a little nervous if a company doesn't produce free cash flow regularly. There's no doubt that we learn most about debt from the balance sheet. But ultimately, every company can contain risks that exist outside of the balance sheet. Be aware that Laekna is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 1 of those is concerning...

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.