Here's Why We're Not Too Worried About Fusion Fuel Green's (NASDAQ:HTOO) Cash Burn Situation

There's no doubt that money can be made by owning shares of unprofitable businesses. 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. Nonetheless, only a fool would ignore the risk that a loss making company burns through its cash too quickly.

So, the natural question for Fusion Fuel Green (NASDAQ:HTOO) shareholders is whether they should be concerned by its rate of cash burn. In this report, we will consider the company's annual negative free cash flow, henceforth referring to it as the 'cash burn'. We'll start by comparing its cash burn with its cash reserves in order to calculate its cash runway.

Check out our latest analysis for Fusion Fuel Green

When Might Fusion Fuel Green Run Out Of Money?

A company's cash runway is calculated by dividing its cash hoard by its cash burn. When Fusion Fuel Green last reported its balance sheet in December 2020, it had zero debt and cash worth €58m. Looking at the last year, the company burnt through €4.5m. So it had a very long cash runway of many years from December 2020. While this is only one measure of its cash burn situation, it certainly gives us the impression that holders have nothing to worry about. The image below shows how its cash balance has been changing over the last few years.

How Is Fusion Fuel Green's Cash Burn Changing Over Time?

Fusion Fuel Green 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. Remarkably, it actually increased its cash burn by 27,567% in the last year. That kind of sharp increase in spending may pay off, but is generally considered quite risky. While the past is always worth studying, it is the future that matters most of all. So you might want to take a peek at how much the company is expected to grow in the next few years.

How Hard Would It Be For Fusion Fuel Green To Raise More Cash For Growth?

Given its cash burn trajectory, Fusion Fuel Green shareholders may wish to consider how easily it could raise more cash, despite its solid cash runway. Issuing new shares, or taking on debt, are the most common ways for a listed company to raise more money for its business. One of the main advantages held by publicly listed companies is that they can sell shares to investors to raise cash and fund 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.

Fusion Fuel Green's cash burn of €4.5m is about 2.7% of its €167m market capitalisation. That means it could easily issue a few shares to fund more growth, and might well be in a position to borrow cheaply.

So, Should We Worry About Fusion Fuel Green's Cash Burn?

As you can probably tell by now, we're not too worried about Fusion Fuel Green's cash burn. For example, we think its cash runway suggests that the company is on a good path. While we must concede that its increasing cash burn is a bit worrying, the other factors mentioned in this article provide great comfort when it comes to the cash burn. Looking at all the measures in this article, together, we're not worried about its rate of cash burn; the company seems well on top of its medium-term spending needs. On another note, Fusion Fuel Green has 3 warning signs (and 1 which can't be ignored) we think you should know about.

Of course Fusion Fuel Green 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.
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