We're Not Worried About Proactis' (EPA:PROAC) Cash Burn

Just because a business does not make any money, does not mean that the stock will go down. 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.

So, the natural question for Proactis (EPA:PROAC) shareholders is whether they should be concerned by its rate of 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. First, we'll determine its cash runway by comparing its cash burn with its cash reserves.

Check out our latest analysis for Proactis

Does Proactis Have A Long Cash Runway?

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. When Proactis last reported its balance sheet in July 2021, it had zero debt and cash worth €1.0m. In the last year, its cash burn was €236k. Therefore, from July 2021 it had 4.4 years of cash runway. There's no doubt that this is a reassuringly long runway. Depicted below, you can see how its cash holdings have changed over time.

Is Proactis' Revenue Growing?

We're hesitant to extrapolate on the recent trend to assess its cash burn, because Proactis actually had positive free cash flow last year, so operating revenue growth is probably our best bet to measure, right now. Unfortunately, the last year has been a disappointment, with operating revenue dropping 9.7% during the period. Of course, we've only taken a quick look at the stock's growth metrics, here. You can take a look at how Proactis has developed its business over time by checking this visualization of its revenue and earnings history.

How Easily Can Proactis Raise Cash?

Since its revenue growth is moving in the wrong direction, Proactis 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. Commonly, a business will sell new shares in itself to raise cash and drive growth. By looking at a company's cash burn relative to its market capitalisation, we gain insight on how much shareholders would be diluted if the company needed to raise enough cash to cover another year's cash burn.

Since it has a market capitalisation of €22m, Proactis' €236k in cash burn equates to about 1.0% of its market value. That means it could easily issue a few shares to fund more growth, and might well be in a position to borrow cheaply.

Is Proactis' Cash Burn A Worry?

As you can probably tell by now, we're not too worried about Proactis' cash burn. In particular, we think its cash runway stands out as evidence that the company is well on top of its spending. Although its falling revenue 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. Separately, we looked at different risks affecting the company and spotted 2 warning signs for Proactis (of which 1 is significant!) you should know about.

Of course Proactis 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. 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.