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, Solitario Zinc (NYSEMKT:XPL) shareholders have done very well over the last year, with the share price soaring by 272%. Nonetheless, only a fool would ignore the risk that a loss making company burns through its cash too quickly.

Given its strong share price performance, we think it's worthwhile for Solitario Zinc shareholders to consider whether its cash burn is concerning. 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 Solitario Zinc

How Long Is Solitario Zinc'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. Solitario Zinc has such a small amount of debt that we'll set it aside, and focus on the US$8.0m in cash it held at December 2020. Importantly, its cash burn was US$1.0m over the trailing twelve months. So it had a cash runway of about 7.9 years from December 2020. Even though this is but one measure of the company's cash burn, the thought of such a long cash runway warms our bellies in a comforting way. You can see how its cash balance has changed over time in the image below.

How Is Solitario Zinc's Cash Burn Changing Over Time?

Solitario Zinc didn't record any revenue over the last year, indicating that it's an early stage company still developing its business. Nonetheless, we can still examine its cash burn trajectory as part of our assessment of its cash burn situation. The 62% reduction in its cash burn over the last twelve months may be good for protecting the balance sheet but it hardly points to imminent growth. Clearly, however, the crucial factor is whether the company will grow its business going forward. So you might want to take a peek at how much the company is expected to grow in the next few years.

Can Solitario Zinc Raise More Cash Easily?

There's no doubt Solitario Zinc's rapidly reducing cash burn brings comfort, but even if it's only hypothetical, it's always worth asking how easily it could raise more money to fund further growth. Issuing new shares, or taking on debt, are the most common ways for a listed company to raise more money for its business. Many companies end up issuing new shares to fund future 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.