St Barbara Limited (ASX:SBM) is possibly approaching a major achievement in its business, so we would like to shine some light on the company. St Barbara Limited, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the exploration, development, mining, and sale of gold. The company’s loss has recently broadened since it announced a AU$54m loss in the full financial year, compared to the latest trailing-twelve-month loss of AU$60m, moving it further away from breakeven. As path to profitability is the topic on St Barbara's investors mind, we've decided to gauge market sentiment. In this article, we will touch on the expectations for the company's growth and when analysts expect it to become profitable.

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According to the 3 industry analysts covering St Barbara, the consensus is that breakeven is near. They expect the company to post a final loss in 2025, before turning a profit of AU$66m in 2026. Therefore, the company is expected to breakeven just over a year from now. In order to meet this breakeven date, we calculated the rate at which the company must grow year-on-year. It turns out an average annual growth rate of 72% is expected, which is extremely buoyant. Should the business grow at a slower rate, it will become profitable at a later date than expected.

Underlying developments driving St Barbara's growth isn’t the focus of this broad overview, but, bear in mind that typically metals and mining companies, depending on the stage of operation and metals mined, have irregular periods of cash flow. This means that a high growth rate is not unusual, especially if the company is currently in an investment period.

Check out our latest analysis for St Barbara

Before we wrap up, there’s one aspect worth mentioning. The company has managed its capital prudently, with debt making up 1.2% of equity. This means that it has predominantly funded its operations from equity capital, and its low debt obligation reduces the risk around investing in the loss-making company.

Next Steps:

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

1. Historical Track Record: What has St Barbara's performance been like over the past? Go into more detail in the past track record analysis and take a look at the free visual representations of our analysis for more clarity.
2. Management Team: An experienced management team on the helm increases our confidence in the business – take a look at who sits on St Barbara'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.

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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.