Here's Why We're Watching THC Global Group's (ASX:THC) Cash Burn Situation
We can readily understand why investors are attracted to unprofitable companies. For example, although Amazon.com made losses for many years after listing, if you had bought and held the shares since 1999, you would have made a fortune. Nonetheless, only a fool would ignore the risk that a loss making company burns through its cash too quickly.
Given this risk, we thought we'd take a look at whether THC Global Group (ASX:THC) shareholders should be worried about its cash burn. For the purposes of this article, cash burn is the annual rate at which an unprofitable company spends cash to fund its growth; its negative free cash flow. First, we'll determine its cash runway by comparing its cash burn with its cash reserves.
Check out our latest analysis for THC Global Group
Does THC Global Group Have A Long 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. In December 2019, THC Global Group had AU$3.6m in cash, and was debt-free. Importantly, its cash burn was AU$8.6m over the trailing twelve months. That means it had a cash runway of around 5 months as of December 2019. That's a very short cash runway which indicates an imminent need to douse the cash burn or find more funding. Depicted below, you can see how its cash holdings have changed over time.
How Well Is THC Global Group Growing?
THC Global Group reduced its cash burn by 3.5% during the last year, which points to some degree of discipline. Having said that, the revenue growth of 80% was considerably more inspiring. We think it is growing rather well, upon reflection. In reality, this article only makes a short study of the company's growth data. This graph of historic revenue growth shows how THC Global Group is building its business over time.
How Easily Can THC Global Group Raise Cash?
Given THC Global Group's revenue is receding, there's a considerable chance it will eventually need to raise more money to spend on driving growth. Companies can raise capital through either debt or equity. Commonly, a business will sell new shares in itself to raise cash to 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).
THC Global Group's cash burn of AU$8.6m is about 19% of its AU$44m market capitalisation. Given that situation, it's fair to say the company wouldn't have much trouble raising more cash for growth, but shareholders would be somewhat diluted.
Is THC Global Group's Cash Burn A Worry?
On this analysis of THC Global Group's cash burn, we think its revenue growth was reassuring, while its cash runway has us a bit worried. Summing up, we think the THC Global Group's cash burn is a risk, based on the factors we mentioned in this article. Taking a deeper dive, we've spotted 6 warning signs for THC Global Group you should be aware of, and 1 of them is significant.
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.
If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. 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. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.
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