Cyanotech reports third-quarter financial results; natural astaxanthin introduced to aquaculture feed market.KAILUA-KONA, Hawaii--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 16, 1997--Cyanotech Corp. (NASDAQ/NMS:CYAN) reported quarterly sales and earnings for the third quarter of fiscal 1997, ended Dec. 31, 1996. For the third quarter of fiscal 1997, compared with the same period in fiscal 1996: -- Net sales Net Sales The amount a seller receives from the buyer after costs associated with the sale are deducted. Notes: This amount is calculated by subtracting the following items from gross sales: merchandise returned for credit, allowances for damaged or missing goods, freight increased 18 percent to $2.8 million from $2.4 million. -- Net income increased 34 percent to $956,000 from $711,000 -- Earnings per share increased 20 percent to 6 cents per share Cents per share The amount of a mutual fund's dividend or capital gains distributions that a shareholder will receive for each share owned. (on 16.7 million shares) from 5 cents per share (on 14.8 million shares) ``Third-quarter results for fiscal 1997 -- Cyanotech's 14th consecutive quarter of year-to-year increases -- continue to reflect growth in net sales as well as strong earnings as a percent of sales,'' said Gerald Gerald - ["Gerald: An Exceptional Lazy Functional Programming Language", A.C. Reeves et al, in Functional Programming, Glasgow 1989, K. Davis et al eds, Springer 1990]. R. Cysewski, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer. ``Gross margins increased to 62 percent during the third quarter from 55 percent last year, while gross margins for the fiscal year-to-date Year-to-date (YTD) The period beginning at the start of the calendar year up to the current date. were 61 percent, compared with 53 percent last year.'' Cysewski added, ``We continue to see increasing competition and downward pricing pressure in certain market areas from lower cost/quality products from Asian producers, which accounted for flat sales compared to the second quarter of fiscal 1997; however, it is in the Asian market where demand for our premium products has been the strongest.'' During the third quarter of fiscal 1997, export sales accounted for a record 71 percent of total sales, with sales to the company's largest customer, a Hong n. 1. A mercantile establishment or factory for foreign trade in China, as formerly at Canton; a succession of offices connected by a common passage and used for business or storage. Kong-based natural products marketing and distribution company selling principally in mainland China, accounting for 54 percent of total net sales. Based on recent discussions, the company anticipates that sales of Spirulina spirulina Any cyanobacteria in the genus Spirulina. A traditional food source in parts of Africa and Mexico, spirulina is an exceptionally rich source of vitamins, minerals, and protein, and one of the few nonanimal sources of vitamin B12. to this customer will continue to represent a significant portion of the company's total net sales during the current calendar year. In November 1996, the company completed the planned expansion of its culture ponds for producing and harvesting microalgae microalgae unicellular aquatic plants (phytoplankton), the starting point of the aquatic food chain. Include toxic microalgae which are important causes of marine fish mortalities, especially Alexandrium, Chaltonella, Heterosigma spp. products, which increased the company's capacity by 50 percent since the expansion program was initiated in April 1996. As a result, Cyanotech ended the third quarter of fiscal 1997 with six weeks of Spirulina production in inventory. Cysewski noted: ``We also are making progress with our new product for the aquaculture aquaculture, the raising and harvesting of fresh- and saltwater plants and animals. The most economically important form of aquaculture is fish farming, an industry that accounts for an ever increasing share of world fisheries production. feed market, natural astaxanthin. We began limited production of natural astaxanthin in December 1996. Production is continuing to ramp up Ramp Up To increase a company's operations in anticipation of increased demand. Notes: A company might 'ramp up' operations if they just signed a contract creating substantially more demand for their product. See also: Demand, Economies of Scale and we expect to have our new natural astaxanthin processing facility completed by the end of February 1997. We expect to be in full commercial production by the end of March 1997.'' Astaxanthin is a red pigment pigment, substance that imparts color to other materials. In paint, the pigment is a powdered substance which, when mixed in the liquid vehicle, imparts color to a painted surface. now used in the aquaculture industry to impart pink color to the flesh of pen-raised fish and shrimp. Worldwide annual sales of synthetic astaxanthin (manufactured from petrochemicals) are estimated to be more than $150 million. Cyanotech has developed a natural astaxanthin product from microalgae, named ``NatuRose,'' to compete in this market. Although limited commercial sales have already been made, Cyanotech is formally introducing its NatuRose product to the aquaculture industry beginning in January 1997 through full-color advertisements in 10 international aquaculture publications. Cyanotech develops and commercializes natural products from microalgae. The company is currently producing microalgae products for the nutritional supplement and immunological immunologic, immunological emanating from or pertaining to immunology. immunologic competence see immunocompetence. immunologic domains diagnostics (1) Software routines that test hardware components (memory, keyboard, disks, etc.). Diagnostics are often stored in ROM chips and activated on startup. (2) Error messages in a programmer's source code that refer to statements or syntax that the compiler or assembler markets and is also developing microalgae-based products for the aquaculture feed/pigments and biopesticide markets. Nutrex Inc., the company's wholly owned subsidiary Wholly Owned Subsidiary A subsidiary whose parent company owns 100% of its common stock. Notes: In other words, the parent company owns the company outright and there are no minority owners. , produces and markets a line of Spirulina-based nutritional products for the retail market. The Nutrex products are the only microalgae products in the world that are certified See certification. organic. -0- Certain statements in this report set forth management's intentions, plans, beliefs, expectations or predictions of the future based on current facts and analyses. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated in such statements, due to a variety of factors including continued price competition and weather conditions. Additional information on factors that may affect the business and financial results of the company and cause actual results to differ from current expectations can be found in filings of the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. -0-
Cyanotech Corp.
Financial Highlights
(In thousands, except per-share data)
Third Quarter Fiscal 1997 Three Months Ended Dec. 31,
1996 1995
Income Statement Data
Net sales $ 2,782 $ 2,348
Gross profit $ 1,731 $ 1,298
Income from operations $ 988 $ 742
Net income $ 956 $ 711
per share $ 0.06 $ 0.05
Weighted average shares outstanding 16,662 14,831
Nine Months Ended Dec. 31,
1996 1995
Income Statement Data
Net sales $ 8,049 $ 5,972
Gross profit $ 4,941 $ 3,188
Income from operations $ 2,755 $ 1,781
Net income $ 2,905 $ 1,729
per share $ 0.18 $ 0.12
Weighted average shares outstanding 16,573 14,702
At Dec. 31, 1996 March 31, 1996
Balance Sheet Data
Working capital $ 9,630 $ 9,749
Total assets $ 24,065 $ 19,716
Total debt and capital
lease obligations $ 914 $ 1,114
Stockholders' equity $ 21,988 $ 17,316
CONTACT: Cyanotech Corp., Kailua-Kona Ronald P. Scott, 808/326-1353 http://www.cyanotech.com or Bruce Russell Bruce Russell is a New Zealand experimental musician. He is a founding member and guitarist of the noise rock trio The Dead C and the free noise combo A Handful of Dust (with Alastair Galbraith). He has released solo albums featuring guitar and tape manipulation. , 310/216-1414 (investor relations Investor relations The process by which the corporation communicates with its investors. ) |
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