Neptune shares start trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange
Director of finances Frédéric Harland said Neptune’s shares had now been delisted from the TSX Venture Exchange: "The migration from the Venture to the Toronto Stock Exchange will open the door to a whole new spectrum of the investment community, since numerous high end investors and institutions only invest in senior exchange listed companies.”
Chief financial officer André Godin added: “This milestone marks an important step in our growth strategy and will raise the profile of our company.”
Intellectual property protection
Neptune has secured two US patents covering its krill oil extracts in recent weeks. The first, no. 8,030,348, covers oils and powders extracted from krill containing marine phospholipids bonded to EPA and/or DHA and distributed and/or sold in the US, and is valid until 2025.
The second, no. 8,057,825, awards Neptune exclusive use of krill extracts in the US as a method for reducing cholesterol, platelet adhesion and plaque formation.
Production capacity boost
The firm, which aims to ratchet up production capacity from 130,000kg/year to almost 500,000kg by 2014, said the first phase of the expansion at its facility in Sherbrooke, Quebec, should be completed by March 2012, and would be achieved without a plant shutdown.
Longer-term, Neptune was exploring other locations, Harland told NutraIngredients-USA earlier this year. “We are considering a plant at a different location. I cannot disclose more on this matter.
“With what we have in our pipeline, we will need close to 500,000kg by 2014. The first phase will get us to 250,000kg, the second phase to 350,000, and the last one close to 500,000kg.”
Nutraceutical business is profitable
Neptune, which reported a 6% rise in sales to $4.35m in the three months to August 31, reported a net loss of $1,77m over the same period, which reflected “significant progress in the R&D activities in the subsidiaries including Acasti’s Phase II study [research conducted by Neptune subsidiary Acasti Pharma].”
However, the nutraceutical business was profitable, said Godin.
“The company recorded its more significant market penetration while increasing its NKO and EKO [Eco krill oil - a product ‘similar to NKO with slightly lower specifications and a lower selling price’] volume sold by more than 50%”, he added.
