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Here's Why We're Not Too Worried About Nuheara's (ASX:NUH) Cash Burn Situation

Even when a business is losing money, it's possible for shareholders to make money if they buy a good business at the right price. 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. But while the successes are well known, investors should not ignore the very many unprofitable companies that simply burn through all their cash and collapse.

So should Nuheara (ASX:NUH) shareholders be worried about its cash burn? For the purpose of this article, we'll define cash burn as the amount of cash the company is spending each year to fund its growth (also called its negative free cash flow). Let's start with an examination of the business' cash, relative to its cash burn.

Check out our latest analysis for Nuheara

When Might Nuheara Run Out Of Money?

A company's cash runway is calculated by dividing its cash hoard by its cash burn. In June 2021, Nuheara had AU$7.3m in cash, and was debt-free. Importantly, its cash burn was AU$7.9m over the trailing twelve months. So it had a cash runway of approximately 11 months from June 2021. That's quite a short cash runway, indicating the company must either reduce its annual cash burn or replenish its cash. The image below shows how its cash balance has been changing over the last few years.

debt-equity-history-analysis
debt-equity-history-analysis

How Well Is Nuheara Growing?

On balance, we think it's mildly positive that Nuheara trimmed its cash burn by 12% over the last twelve months. But that's nothing compared to its mouth-watering operating revenue growth of 517%. It seems to be growing nicely. Of course, we've only taken a quick look at the stock's growth metrics, here. This graph of historic revenue growth shows how Nuheara is building its business over time.

How Easily Can Nuheara Raise Cash?

While Nuheara seems to be in a fairly good position, it's still worth considering how easily it could raise more cash, even just to fuel faster growth. Generally speaking, a listed business can raise new cash through issuing shares or taking on debt. One of the main advantages held by publicly listed companies is that they can sell shares to investors to raise cash and fund 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).

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Nuheara has a market capitalisation of AU$59m and burnt through AU$7.9m last year, which is 13% of the company's market value. 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.

How Risky Is Nuheara's Cash Burn Situation?

On this analysis of Nuheara's cash burn, we think its revenue growth was reassuring, while its cash runway has us a bit worried. Cash burning companies are always on the riskier side of things, but after considering all of the factors discussed in this short piece, we're not too worried about its rate of cash burn. Taking a deeper dive, we've spotted 6 warning signs for Nuheara you should be aware of, and 2 of them don't sit too well with us.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies, and this list of stocks growth stocks (according to analyst forecasts)

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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.