OptiBiotix Health PLC on Wednesday said order delays and increased costs hurt annual performance.
The York, England-based probiotics developer tackling obesity, cardiovascular diseases and lifestyle conditions said pretax profit fell by 61% to £2.4 million in 2022 from £6.2 million in 2021. Revenue dropped by 79% to £457,000 from £2.2 million.
This partly resulted from delays in the placement of orders by customers, OptiBiotix explained, but it also highlighted that comparison between the two years is skewed by a change in its structure upon the initial public offering on Aquis Stock Exchange in March last year of subsidiary ProBiotix Health PLC. OptiBiotix retains a 44% stake in ProBiotix but no longer includes its costs and revenue in its own accounts.
Pretax profit for both years include significant profits and losses on investments. At an operating level, OptiBiotix recorded a loss of £2.5 million in 2022, widened from £1.4 million in 2021.
Looking ahead, OptiBiotix said its focus is on moving the company to operational profitability through a reduction in central costs and the promotion of sales. The firm noted it has already made progress in these areas, in particular in the US and Asian markets.
Shares in OptiBiotix were down 8.7% at 6.16 pence each in London on Wednesday morning.
Copyright 2023 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
