We're Hopeful That 9 Spokes International (ASX:9SP) Will Use Its Cash Wisely

Just because a business does not make any money, does not mean that the stock will go down. For example, although software-as-a-service business Salesforce.com lost money for years while it grew recurring revenue, if you held shares since 2005, you'd have done very well indeed. Having said that, unprofitable companies are risky because they could potentially burn through all their cash and become distressed.

Given this risk, we thought we'd take a look at whether 9 Spokes International (ASX:9SP) 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. We'll start by comparing its cash burn with its cash reserves in order to calculate its cash runway.

View our latest analysis for 9 Spokes International

Does 9 Spokes International Have A Long Cash Runway?

A company's cash runway is calculated by dividing its cash hoard by its cash burn. When 9 Spokes International last reported its balance sheet in March 2020, it had zero debt and cash worth NZ$5.1m. Importantly, its cash burn was NZ$2.6m over the trailing twelve months. That means it had a cash runway of around 23 months as of March 2020. While that cash runway isn't too concerning, sensible holders would be peering into the distance, and considering what happens if the company runs out of cash. Depicted below, you can see how its cash holdings have changed over time.

How Well Is 9 Spokes International Growing?

Happily, 9 Spokes International is travelling in the right direction when it comes to its cash burn, which is down 72% over the last year. But it was a bit disconcerting to see operating revenue down 20% in that time. Considering the factors above, the company doesn’t fare badly when it comes to assessing how it is changing over time. Of course, we've only taken a quick look at the stock's growth metrics, here. This graph of historic earnings and revenue shows how 9 Spokes International is building its business over time.

How Easily Can 9 Spokes International Raise Cash?

9 Spokes International seems to be in a fairly good position, in terms of cash burn, but we still think it's worthwhile considering how easily it could raise more money if it wanted to. Generally speaking, a listed business can raise new cash through issuing shares or taking on debt. 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.

9 Spokes International's cash burn of NZ$2.6m is about 6.9% of its NZ$37m 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.

So, Should We Worry About 9 Spokes International's Cash Burn?

On this analysis of 9 Spokes International's cash burn, we think its cash burn reduction was reassuring, while its falling revenue has us a bit worried. Based on the factors mentioned in this article, we think its cash burn situation warrants some attention from shareholders, but we don't think they should be worried. Readers need to have a sound understanding of business risks before investing in a stock, and we've spotted 4 warning signs for 9 Spokes International that potential shareholders should take into account before putting money into a stock.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies, and this list of stocks growth stocks (according to analyst forecasts)

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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