Is ARHT Media (CVE:ART) In A Good Position To Deliver On Growth Plans?

We can readily understand why investors are attracted to unprofitable companies. For example, biotech and mining exploration companies often lose money for years before finding success with a new treatment or mineral discovery. But while history lauds those rare successes, those that fail are often forgotten; who remembers Pets.com?

So, the natural question for ARHT Media (CVE:ART) shareholders is whether they should be concerned by its rate of cash burn. 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. The first step is to compare its cash burn with its cash reserves, to give us its 'cash runway'.

See our latest analysis for ARHT Media

How Long Is ARHT Media's Cash Runway?

You can calculate a company's cash runway by dividing the amount of cash it has by the rate at which it is spending that cash. As at September 2022, ARHT Media had cash of CA$6.5m and such minimal debt that we can ignore it for the purposes of this analysis. Importantly, its cash burn was CA$8.1m over the trailing twelve months. So it had a cash runway of approximately 10 months from September 2022. That's quite a short cash runway, indicating the company must either reduce its annual cash burn or replenish its cash. You can see how its cash balance has changed over time in the image below.

debt-equity-history-analysis
debt-equity-history-analysis

How Well Is ARHT Media Growing?

ARHT Media boosted investment sharply in the last year, with cash burn ramping by 65%. While that isa little concerning at a glance, the company has a track record of recent growth, evidenced by the impressive 66% growth in revenue, over the very same year. On balance, we'd say the company is improving over time. In reality, this article only makes a short study of the company's growth data. This graph of historic revenue growth shows how ARHT Media is building its business over time.

How Easily Can ARHT Media Raise Cash?

ARHT Media 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. 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. 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.

ARHT Media has a market capitalisation of CA$34m and burnt through CA$8.1m last year, which is 24% of the company's market value. That's not insignificant, and if the company had to sell enough shares to fund another year's growth at the current share price, you'd likely witness fairly costly dilution.

Is ARHT Media's Cash Burn A Worry?

On this analysis of ARHT Media's cash burn, we think its revenue growth was reassuring, while its increasing cash burn has us a bit worried. Even though we don't think it has a problem with its cash burn, the analysis we've done in this article does suggest that shareholders should give some careful thought to the potential cost of raising more money in the future. On another note, ARHT Media has 3 warning signs (and 1 which doesn't sit too well with us) we think you should know about.

Of course ARHT Media 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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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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