Yahoo Finance Kelso Technologies (TSE:KLS) Is In A Good Position To Deliver On Growth Plans
Even when a business is losing money, it's possible for shareholders to make money if they buy a good business at the right price. 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 Kelso Technologies (TSE:KLS) shareholders is whether they should be concerned by its rate of 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 Kelso Technologies
Does Kelso Technologies Have A Long Cash Runway?
A company's cash runway is calculated by dividing its cash hoard by its cash burn. When Kelso Technologies last reported its balance sheet in June 2022, it had zero debt and cash worth US$2.3m. In the last year, its cash burn was US$1.6m. So it had a cash runway of approximately 18 months from June 2022. 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. The image below shows how its cash balance has been changing over the last few years.
How Well Is Kelso Technologies Growing?
Happily, Kelso Technologies is travelling in the right direction when it comes to its cash burn, which is down 61% over the last year. This reduction was no doubt supported by its strong revenue growth of 57% in the same period. Considering these factors, we're fairly impressed by its growth trajectory. In reality, this article only makes a short study of the company's growth data. You can take a look at how Kelso Technologies is growing revenue over time by checking this visualization of past revenue growth.
Can Kelso Technologies Raise More Cash Easily?
We are certainly impressed with the progress Kelso Technologies has made over the last year, but it is also worth considering how costly it would be if it wanted to raise more cash to fund faster growth. 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 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 US$20m, Kelso Technologies' US$1.6m in cash burn equates to about 7.8% of its market value. 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.
How Risky Is Kelso Technologies' Cash Burn Situation?
It may already be apparent to you that we're relatively comfortable with the way Kelso Technologies is burning through its cash. In particular, we think its revenue growth stands out as evidence that the company is well on top of its spending. Its weak point is its cash runway, but even that wasn't too bad! 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. On another note, we conducted an in-depth investigation of the company, and identified 2 warning signs for Kelso Technologies (1 is potentially serious!) that you should be aware of before investing here.
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)
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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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