Phyto-Source venture helps Forbes cut losses
revenue for the first quarter, helped by sales of sterols from the
Phyto-Source joint venture, currently exceeding expectations.
Forbes recently reported a rise in first quarter revenue and reduced losses for fiscal 2002, thanks to sales of sterols from the Phyto-Source joint venture.
Revenues for the first quarter to end of March rose by 37 per cent to $3.4 million in the first quarter of 2003 compared to $2.4 million in the first quarter of 2002.
Forbes said that sales of its sterols-based products have exceeded first quarter expectations. Shipments in early 2003, under the major sterols agreement announced in September 2002, allowed the company to report strong sales figures. The Phyto-source plant in Pasadena, Texas, where the phytosterols are processed is currently operating at 80 per cent of its annual capacity of 1,000 tonnes, Forbes said.
"The initiatives taken in this past year have significantly reshaped the company and improved its future outlook," said Charles Butt, president and CEO of Forbes Medi-Tech.
Forbes is maintaining its revenue guidance for 2003 of C$12 million (US$8 million), based on existing sales contracts, and assuming that forecasted supply requirements will be ordered and shipped, it said. This figure represents the company's share of the $20 million projected revenue of the combined sales contracts of the company and the Phyto-Source joint venture. The company is currently in discussions with several other companies regarding possible new major sterol contracts.
The company managed to cut full year losses, reporting a net loss of $4.1 million compared for the year to end December, compared with a net loss of $6.5 million for the five months ended December 31, 2001, and a net loss of $19.7 million for the year ended July 31, 2001. For the first quarter ended March 31, 2003, the company reported net income of $0.1 million compared with a net loss of $2.1 million for the first quarter ended March 31, 2002 and compared to a net loss of $3.1 million for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2002. This was primarily due to the company's share of the increase in sales by the Phyto-Source joint venture as shipments under Phyto-Source's major sterols agreement commenced, continuing curtailments in the areas of administrative and non-core R&D expenditures, and the receipt of Quebec provincial investment tax credits in the amount of $0.6 million, Forbes said.
