Yahoo Finance We're A Little Worried About Magnum Mining and Exploration's (ASX:MGU) Cash Burn Rate
We can readily understand why investors are attracted to unprofitable companies. For example, biotech and mining exploration companies often lose money for years before finding success with a new treatment or mineral discovery. 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.
Given this risk, we thought we'd take a look at whether Magnum Mining and Exploration (ASX:MGU) shareholders should be worried about its cash burn. In this article, we define cash burn as its annual (negative) free cash flow, which is the amount of money a company spends each year to fund its growth. The first step is to compare its cash burn with its cash reserves, to give us its 'cash runway'.
Check out our latest analysis for Magnum Mining and Exploration
When Might Magnum Mining and Exploration 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. As at December 2019, Magnum Mining and Exploration had cash of AU$147k and no debt. Importantly, its cash burn was AU$1.7m over the trailing twelve months. So it seems to us it had a cash runway of less than two months from December 2019. To be frank we are alarmed by how short that cash runway is! You can see how its cash balance has changed over time in the image below.
How Is Magnum Mining and Exploration's Cash Burn Changing Over Time?
Whilst it's great to see that Magnum Mining and Exploration has already begun generating revenue from operations, last year it only produced AU$126k, so we don't think it is generating significant revenue, at this point. Therefore, for the purposes of this analysis we'll focus on how the cash burn is tracking. Over the last year its cash burn actually increased by 22%, which suggests that management are increasing investment in future growth, but not too quickly. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but investors should be mindful of the fact that will shorten the cash runway. Admittedly, we're a bit cautious of Magnum Mining and Exploration due to its lack of significant operating revenues. So we'd generally prefer stocks from this list of stocks that have analysts forecasting growth.
How Hard Would It Be For Magnum Mining and Exploration To Raise More Cash For Growth?
Since its cash burn is moving in the wrong direction, Magnum Mining and Exploration shareholders may wish to think ahead to when the company may need to raise more cash. Companies can raise capital through either debt or equity. Many companies end up issuing new shares to fund future growth. We can compare a company's cash burn to its market capitalisation to get a sense for how many new shares a company would have to issue to fund one year's operations.
Magnum Mining and Exploration's cash burn of AU$1.7m is about 14% of its AU$12m 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 Magnum Mining and Exploration's Cash Burn A Worry?
Even though its cash runway makes us a little nervous, we are compelled to mention that we thought Magnum Mining and Exploration's cash burn relative to its market cap was relatively promising. Once we consider the metrics mentioned in this article together, we're left with very little confidence in the company's ability to manage its cash burn, and we think it will probably need more money. Taking a deeper dive, we've spotted 7 warning signs for Magnum Mining and Exploration you should be aware of, and 5 of them are potentially serious.
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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