We're Hopeful That Motorcomm Electronic Technology (SHSE:688515) Will Use Its Cash Wisely

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. But the harsh reality is that very many loss making companies burn through all their cash and go bankrupt.

Given this risk, we thought we'd take a look at whether Motorcomm Electronic Technology (SHSE:688515) shareholders should 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). First, we'll determine its cash runway by comparing its cash burn with its cash reserves.

See our latest analysis for Motorcomm Electronic Technology

When Might Motorcomm Electronic Technology Run Out Of Money?

A company's cash runway is calculated by dividing its cash hoard by its cash burn. Motorcomm Electronic Technology has such a small amount of debt that we'll set it aside, and focus on the CN¥1.4b in cash it held at September 2024. Importantly, its cash burn was CN¥309m over the trailing twelve months. Therefore, from September 2024 it had 4.4 years of cash runway. A runway of this length affords the company the time and space it needs to develop the business. Importantly, if we extrapolate recent cash burn trends, the cash runway would be noticeably longer. The image below shows how its cash balance has been changing over the last few years.

How Well Is Motorcomm Electronic Technology Growing?

Motorcomm Electronic Technology boosted investment sharply in the last year, with cash burn ramping by 55%. On the bright side, at least operating revenue was up 40% over the same period, giving some cause for hope. On balance, we'd say the company is improving over time. Clearly, however, the crucial factor is whether the company will grow its business going forward. So you might want to take a peek at how much the company is expected to grow in the next few years.

How Easily Can Motorcomm Electronic Technology Raise Cash?

There's no doubt Motorcomm Electronic Technology seems to be in a fairly good position, when it comes to managing its cash burn, but even if it's only hypothetical, it's always worth asking how easily it could raise more money to fund 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).

Since it has a market capitalisation of CN¥7.2b, Motorcomm Electronic Technology's CN¥309m in cash burn equates to about 4.3% of its market value. Given that is a rather small percentage, it would probably be really easy for the company to fund another year's growth by issuing some new shares to investors, or even by taking out a loan.

So, Should We Worry About Motorcomm Electronic Technology's Cash Burn?

As you can probably tell by now, we're not too worried about Motorcomm Electronic Technology's cash burn. For example, we think its cash runway suggests that the company is on a good path. Although its increasing cash burn does give us reason for pause, the other metrics we discussed in this article form a positive picture overall. After taking into account the various metrics mentioned in this report, we're pretty comfortable with how the company is spending its cash, as it seems on track to meet its needs over the medium term. An in-depth examination of risks revealed 2 warning signs for Motorcomm Electronic Technology that readers should think about before committing capital to this stock.

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.

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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.