Hastings Technology Metals Limited (ASX:HAS) is possibly approaching a major achievement in its business, so we would like to shine some light on the company. Hastings Technology Metals Limited engages in the exploration and development of rare earth deposits in Australia. The AU$426m market-cap company announced a latest loss of AU$6.3m on 30 June 2021 for its most recent financial year result. Many investors are wondering about the rate at which Hastings Technology Metals will turn a profit, with the big question being “when will the company breakeven?” We've put together a brief outline of industry analyst expectations for the company, its year of breakeven and its implied growth rate.

View our latest analysis for Hastings Technology Metals

Consensus from 2 of the Australian Metals and Mining analysts is that Hastings Technology Metals is on the verge of breakeven. They anticipate the company to incur a final loss in 2022, before generating positive profits of AU$5.5m in 2023. So, the company is predicted to breakeven approximately 2 years from now. How fast will the company have to grow each year in order to reach the breakeven point by 2023? Working backwards from analyst estimates, it turns out that they expect the company to grow 68% year-on-year, on average, which signals high confidence from analysts. Should the business grow at a slower rate, it will become profitable at a later date than expected.

Underlying developments driving Hastings Technology Metals' growth isn’t the focus of this broad overview, however, bear in mind that typically a metal and mining business has lumpy cash flows which are contingent on the natural resource mined and stage at which the company is operating. So, a high growth rate is not out of the ordinary, particularly when a company is in a period of investment.

One thing we’d like to point out is that Hastings Technology Metals has no debt on its balance sheet, which is quite unusual for a cash-burning metals and mining company, which typically has high debt relative to its equity. The company currently operates purely off its shareholder funding and has no debt obligation, reducing concerns around repayments and making it a less risky investment.

Next Steps:

There are too many aspects of Hastings Technology Metals to cover in one brief article, but the key fundamentals for the company can all be found in one place – Hastings Technology Metals' company page on Simply Wall St. We've also compiled a list of pertinent aspects you should further examine:

1. Valuation: What is Hastings Technology Metals worth today? Has the future growth potential already been factored into the price? The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether Hastings Technology Metals is currently mispriced by the market.

2. Management Team: An experienced management team on the helm increases our confidence in the business – take a look at who sits on Hastings Technology Metals’s board and the CEO’s background.

3. Other High-Performing Stocks: Are there other stocks that provide better prospects with proven track records? Explore our free list of these great stocks here.

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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