Yahoo Finance We're Hopeful That Omega Diagnostics Group (LON:ODX) Will Use Its Cash Wisely
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. Nonetheless, only a fool would ignore the risk that a loss making company burns through its cash too quickly.
So, the natural question for Omega Diagnostics Group (LON:ODX) 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'. First, we'll determine its cash runway by comparing its cash burn with its cash reserves.
See our latest analysis for Omega Diagnostics Group
Does Omega Diagnostics Group Have A Long 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. When Omega Diagnostics Group last reported its balance sheet in September 2020, it had zero debt and cash worth UK£7.0m. Looking at the last year, the company burnt through UK£3.5m. So it had a cash runway of about 2.0 years from September 2020. That's not too bad, but it's fair to say the end of the cash runway is in sight, unless cash burn reduces drastically. The image below shows how its cash balance has been changing over the last few years.
How Well Is Omega Diagnostics Group Growing?
It was quite stunning to see that Omega Diagnostics Group increased its cash burn by 251% over the last year. While that's concerning on it's own, the fact that operating revenue was actually down 5.3% over the same period makes us positively tremulous. In light of the above-mentioned, we're pretty wary of the trajectory the company seems to be on. In reality, this article only makes a short study of the company's growth data. You can take a look at how Omega Diagnostics Group has developed its business over time by checking this visualization of its revenue and earnings history.
How Hard Would It Be For Omega Diagnostics Group To Raise More Cash For Growth?
Omega Diagnostics Group revenue is declining and its cash burn is increasing, so many may be considering its need to raise more cash in the future. 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. 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.
Omega Diagnostics Group's cash burn of UK£3.5m is about 3.0% of its UK£116m market capitalisation. Given that is a rather small percentage, it would probably be really easy for the company to fund another year's growth by issuing some new shares to investors, or even by taking out a loan.
Is Omega Diagnostics Group's Cash Burn A Worry?
On this analysis of Omega Diagnostics Group's cash burn, we think its cash burn relative to its market cap was reassuring, while its increasing cash burn has us a bit worried. While we're the kind of investors who are always a bit concerned about the risks involved with cash burning companies, the metrics we have discussed in this article leave us relatively comfortable about Omega Diagnostics Group's situation. Separately, we looked at different risks affecting the company and spotted 3 warning signs for Omega Diagnostics Group (of which 1 shouldn't be ignored!) you should know about.
If you would prefer to check out another company with better fundamentals, then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt or this list of stocks which are all forecast to grow.
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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