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 Monument Mining (CVE:MMY) 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'. Let's start with an examination of the business' cash, relative to its cash burn.

See our latest analysis for Monument Mining

When Might Monument Mining Run Out Of Money?

A company's cash runway is the amount of time it would take to burn through its cash reserves at its current cash burn rate. Monument Mining has such a small amount of debt that we'll set it aside, and focus on the US$4.8m in cash it held at December 2023. Looking at the last year, the company burnt through US$7.9m. Therefore, from December 2023 it had roughly 7 months of cash runway. To be frank, this kind of short runway puts us on edge, as it indicates the company must reduce its cash burn significantly, or else raise cash imminently. Depicted below, you can see how its cash holdings have changed over time.

How Well Is Monument Mining Growing?

It was fairly positive to see that Monument Mining reduced its cash burn by 47% during the last year. And arguably the operating revenue growth of 74% was even more impressive. It seems to be growing nicely. Of course, we've only taken a quick look at the stock's growth metrics, here. This graph of historic revenue growth shows how Monument Mining is building its business over time.

How Hard Would It Be For Monument Mining To Raise More Cash For Growth?

While Monument Mining seems to be in a fairly good position, it's still worth considering how easily it could raise more cash, even just to fuel faster growth. Generally speaking, a listed business can raise new cash through issuing shares or taking on debt. Many companies end up issuing new shares to fund future 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.

Monument Mining's cash burn of US$7.9m is about 20% of its US$40m market capitalisation. As a result, we'd venture that the company could raise more cash for growth without much trouble, albeit at the cost of some dilution.