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(Alliance News) - Plant Health Care PLC on Tuesday said its pretax loss had widened last year despite increased revenue, but said it was "firmly on track" to achieve its long-term financial objectives and that trading was in line with market expectations.
Plant Health Care is a North Carolina, US-based provider of proprietary agricultural biological products and technology solutions focused on improving crop performance.
Plant Health Care said its pretax loss for 2022 widened to USD9.4 million from USD6.4 million the previous year. Revenue increased by 40% to USD11.8 million in 2022 from USD8.4 million.
Plant Health Care said administrative expenses increased by 92% to USD8.3 million. Sales and marketing expenses increased by 24% to USD4.6 million, and research and development expenses increased by 5.4% to USD3.6 million.
Going forward, Plant Health Care said it is "firmly on track" to achieve annual revenue of USD30 million by 2025 by launching new peptides and achieving growth through current and future distributor relationships. It said trading is currently in line with market expectations for the whole of 2023, despite "a slow start" to the US farming season.
Plant Health Care also announced its intention to consult with shareholders as to whether AIM remains the best capital market for the company. Non-Executive Chair Christopher Richards said that "like many other small UK-quoted companies, the board is frustrated that the company's share price performance does not reflect [its] positive progress".
Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Tweedy commented: "Our success has been driven by the growing demand for HarpinaB in North and South America and the successful commercialisation of Saori in Brazil following its launch in 2021. We expect Saori to be a significant driver of growth, and our new long-term commercial agreement with Nutrien to distribute the product in Brazil will help achieve this mission."
He added: "Plant Health Care has continued to expand into new markets around the world including South America, Europe and India. We have grown our relationships with major distribution partners to deliver our products into these new markets."
Shares in Plant Health Care were down 19% at 9.45 pence on Tuesday in London.
By Emma Curzon, Alliance News reporter
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