Here's Why We're Watching MetalsTech's (ASX:MTC) Cash Burn Situation
We can readily understand why investors are attracted to unprofitable companies. For example, although software-as-a-service business Salesforce.com lost money for years while it grew recurring revenue, if you held shares since 2005, you'd have done very well indeed. Having said that, unprofitable companies are risky because they could potentially burn through all their cash and become distressed.
Given this risk, we thought we'd take a look at whether MetalsTech (ASX:MTC) shareholders should be worried about its cash burn. In this report, we will consider the company's annual negative free cash flow, henceforth referring to it as the 'cash burn'. First, we'll determine its cash runway by comparing its cash burn with its cash reserves.
See our latest analysis for MetalsTech
How Long Is MetalsTech's Cash Runway?
You can calculate a company's cash runway by dividing the amount of cash it has by the rate at which it is spending that cash. When MetalsTech last reported its balance sheet in December 2022, it had zero debt and cash worth AU$3.1m. Importantly, its cash burn was AU$4.5m over the trailing twelve months. So it had a cash runway of approximately 8 months from December 2022. To be frank, this kind of short runway puts us on edge, as it indicates the company must reduce its cash burn significantly, or else raise cash imminently. You can see how its cash balance has changed over time in the image below.
Can MetalsTech Raise More Cash Easily?
Companies can raise capital through either debt or equity. Commonly, a business will sell new shares in itself to raise cash and drive growth. By comparing a company's annual cash burn to its total market capitalisation, we can estimate roughly how many shares it would have to issue in order to run the company for another year (at the same burn rate).
MetalsTech's cash burn of AU$4.5m is about 11% of its AU$41m market capitalisation. As a result, we'd venture that the company could raise more cash for growth without much trouble, albeit at the cost of some dilution.
Is MetalsTech's Cash Burn A Worry?
Because MetalsTech is an early stage company, we don't have a great deal of data on which to form an opinion of its cash burn. We would undoubtedly be more comfortable if it had reported some operating revenue. But generally speaking, we can say that early stage companies like MetalsTech are generally higher risk than well established businesses. For us, the key takeaway here is that its cash burn is worth monitoring closely because it may have to raise more capital in due course. Taking a deeper dive, we've spotted 5 warning signs for MetalsTech you should be aware of, and 3 of them are concerning.
If you would prefer to check out another company with better fundamentals, then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt or this list of stocks which are all forecast to grow.
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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.
