Fiscal 2004 marked the return of Cyanotech - who claims to be the world's largest commercial producer of natural astaxanthin from microalgae - to profitability, reporting a net income of $399,000 or 2 cents per share.
This financial year also saw net sales increase 29 percent compared to 2003; the company's sales topped $4.9 million in fiscal 2004, compared to $2.6 million in 2003 and $1.7 million in 2002.
Cyanotech believes consumers now have a growing awareness of the beneficial antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of astaxanthin - microalgae cultivated for the production of antioxidants, which cleanse the blood of toxins - thanks to the findings of clinical trials. "Such awareness has helped to spur demand," said the company this week.
However, it also sounded a note of caution, saying it "needs to continue to focus on market acceptance of its natural astaxanthin products as increased competition from other producers of natural and synthetic astaxanthin may result in the decline of margins."
Cyanotech intended originally to sell its products directly, but is now getting better revenues by selling in bulk to other companies that treat antioxidant material as a commodity and buy mainly based on price.
The company manufactures its products in Hawaii but markets them worldwide, generating 53 percent, 54 percent and 47 percent of its revenues outside of the United States for each of the years ended March 31, 2004, 2003 and 2002, respectively.
