Matson Inc (MATX)

Cash ratio

		Dec 31, 2023	Sep 30, 2023	Jun 30, 2023	Mar 31, 2023	Dec 31, 2022	Sep 30, 2022	Jun 30, 2022	Mar 31, 2022	Dec 31, 2021	Sep 30, 2021	Jun 30, 2021	Mar 31, 2021	Dec 31, 2020	Sep 30, 2020	Jun 30, 2020	Mar 31, 2020	Dec 31, 2019	Sep 30, 2019	Jun 30, 2019	Mar 31, 2019
Cash and cash equivalents	US$ in thousands	134,000	156,500	122,000	88,500	249,800	242,800	609,000	392,800	282,400	75,900	17,400	11,800	14,400	12,700	19,500	19,900	21,200	23,600	24,000	15,400
Short-term investments	US$ in thousands	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	37,000	50,000	47,000	48,000	55,000	—	—	—	—	—	—
Total current liabilities	US$ in thousands	562,300	570,600	549,000	535,800	581,600	599,900	632,100	610,200	612,400	547,300	532,300	519,100	511,500	453,600	449,600	470,900	436,700	437,700	425,400	411,100
Cash ratio		0.24	0.27	0.22	0.17	0.43	0.40	0.96	0.64	0.46	0.21	0.13	0.11	0.12	0.15	0.04	0.04	0.05	0.05	0.06	0.04

December 31, 2023 calculation

Cash ratio = (Cash and cash equivalents + Short-term investments) ÷ Total current liabilities
= ($134,000K + $—K) ÷ $562,300K
= 0.24

The cash ratio measures a company's ability to cover its short-term liabilities using only its cash and cash equivalents. A higher cash ratio indicates that a company has more cash available to cover its short-term obligations.

Looking at Matson Inc's cash ratio over the past eight quarters, we can see that it has fluctuated between 0.35 and 1.16.

In the most recent quarter (Q4 2023), the cash ratio was 0.35, which indicates that the company had 35 cents of cash available for every dollar of short-term liabilities. This ratio has decreased from the previous quarter, Q3 2023, where the cash ratio was 0.58.

Compared to the same quarter in the previous year (Q4 2022), the cash ratio has also decreased from 0.54 to 0.35 in Q4 2023, indicating a potential decrease in the company's ability to cover its short-term liabilities with cash alone.

Overall, Matson Inc's cash ratio has shown some variability in recent quarters, which may suggest changes in the company's cash position and its ability to meet short-term obligations solely with cash holdings. It would be important to further investigate the reasons behind these fluctuations and assess whether they indicate any underlying financial challenges or management decisions.