Yahoo Finance We're Keeping An Eye On Microba Life Sciences' (ASX:MAP) Cash Burn Rate
Just because a business does not make any money, does not mean that the stock will go down. 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, the natural question for Microba Life Sciences (ASX:MAP) shareholders is whether they should be concerned by its rate of 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.
View our latest analysis for Microba Life Sciences
When Might Microba Life Sciences Run Out Of Money?
A cash runway is defined as the length of time it would take a company to run out of money if it kept spending at its current rate of cash burn. Microba Life Sciences has such a small amount of debt that we'll set it aside, and focus on the AU$10m in cash it held at December 2021. In the last year, its cash burn was AU$9.3m. So it had a cash runway of approximately 13 months from December 2021. Notably, one analyst forecasts that Microba Life Sciences will break even (at a free cash flow level) in about 4 years. That means unless the company reduces its cash burn quickly, it may well look to raise more cash. The image below shows how its cash balance has been changing over the last few years.
How Well Is Microba Life Sciences Growing?
At first glance it's a bit worrying to see that Microba Life Sciences actually boosted its cash burn by 42%, year on year. At least the revenue was up 14% during the period, even if it wasn't up by much. In light of the data above, we're fairly sanguine about the business growth trajectory. While the past is always worth studying, it is the future that matters most of all. For that reason, it makes a lot of sense to take a look at our analyst forecasts for the company.
Can Microba Life Sciences Raise More Cash Easily?
While Microba Life Sciences 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. Issuing new shares, or taking on debt, are the most common ways for a listed company to raise more money for its business. Many companies end up issuing new shares to fund future 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).
Microba Life Sciences has a market capitalisation of AU$53m and burnt through AU$9.3m last year, which is 17% 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 Microba Life Sciences' Cash Burn Situation?
Even though its increasing cash burn makes us a little nervous, we are compelled to mention that we thought Microba Life Sciences' revenue growth was relatively promising. Shareholders can take heart from the fact that at least one analyst is forecasting it will reach breakeven. Even though we don't think it has a problem with its cash burn, the analysis we've done in this article does suggest that shareholders should give some careful thought to the potential cost of raising more money in the future. An in-depth examination of risks revealed 4 warning signs for Microba Life Sciences that readers should think about before committing capital to this stock.
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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.
