We Think Chakana Copper (CVE:PERU) Can Afford To Drive Business Growth

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, Chakana Copper (CVE:PERU) shareholders have done very well over the last year, with the share price soaring by 216%. Nonetheless, only a fool would ignore the risk that a loss making company burns through its cash too quickly.

In light of its strong share price run, we think now is a good time to investigate how risky Chakana Copper's cash burn is. 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. We'll start by comparing its cash burn with its cash reserves in order to calculate its cash runway.

See our latest analysis for Chakana Copper

Does Chakana Copper Have A Long Cash Runway?

A company's cash runway is the amount of time it would take to burn through its cash reserves at its current cash burn rate. When Chakana Copper last reported its balance sheet in August 2020, it had zero debt and cash worth CA$6.2m. Looking at the last year, the company burnt through CA$4.2m. So it had a cash runway of approximately 18 months from August 2020. That's not too bad, but it's fair to say the end of the cash runway is in sight, unless cash burn reduces drastically. You can see how its cash balance has changed over time in the image below.

How Is Chakana Copper's Cash Burn Changing Over Time?

Chakana Copper didn't record any revenue over the last year, indicating that it's an early stage company still developing its business. Nonetheless, we can still examine its cash burn trajectory as part of our assessment of its cash burn situation. While it hardly paints a picture of imminent growth, the fact that it has reduced its cash burn by 50% over the last year suggests some degree of prudence. Admittedly, we're a bit cautious of Chakana Copper due to its lack of significant operating revenues. We prefer most of the stocks on this list of stocks that analysts expect to grow.

Can Chakana Copper Raise More Cash Easily?

While we're comforted by the recent reduction evident from our analysis of Chakana Copper's cash burn, it is still worth considering how easily the company could raise more funds, if it wanted to accelerate spending to drive 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. 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.

Chakana Copper's cash burn of CA$4.2m is about 7.4% of its CA$56m market capitalisation. That's a low proportion, so we figure the company would be able to raise more cash to fund growth, with a little dilution, or even to simply borrow some money.

How Risky Is Chakana Copper's Cash Burn Situation?

Chakana Copper appears to be in pretty good health when it comes to its cash burn situation. One the one hand we have its solid cash burn reduction, while on the other it can also boast very strong cash burn relative to its market cap. Considering all the factors discussed in this article, we're not overly concerned about the company's cash burn, although we do think shareholders should keep an eye on how it develops. Taking an in-depth view of risks, we've identified 1 warning sign for Chakana Copper that you should be aware of before investing.

Of course Chakana Copper may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of companies boasting high return on equity, or this list of stocks that insiders are buying.

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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. 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.
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