NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Fluorotechnics has reported that its preliminary fiscal-year 2011 revenues fell 67 percent from FY2010, as it continues to reorganize its business in a bid to stay afloat.
Separately, the Australian firm announced it has raised A$615,000 (US$646,807) for a planned acquisition in the "resources sector."
For the year ended June 30, revenues totaled A$1.1 million, down from A$3.3 million a year ago. Its net loss contracted 62 percent to A$2.6 million from A$6.9 million.
The firm's R&D spending was scaled down to A$289,536, a 64 percent drop from A$793,609 a year ago, and its SG&A costs were reduced 65 percent to a little less than A$1.5 million from A$4.3 million a year ago.
In its preliminary report, the company said that the year was marked "by a sad realization" that despite "initial great expectations" for sales growth, those expectations would not be met. Though a number of opinion leaders in Europe were using Fluorotechnics' equipment as of June 2010, by September 2010, "the lead time for making sales had not shown a significant improvement, and we could not be confident that the business could move into a break-even cash flow position within a reasonable time frame."
During fiscal 2011, the company sold off its Gel Company subsidiary in the US for US$150,000 and scaled back operations in Germany. It also sold its gel and tower technology to Serva Electrophoresis for about $197,000.
While Fluorotechnics continues to manufacture gels through its German subsidiary and owns its protein dye technology, it is seeking buyers for those businesses, the company said.
As part of its reorganization, Fluorotechnics is now focusing on the resources sector, comprised of the mining, gas, energy, and minerals processing industries. In connection with that, the firm announced that it had raised A$615,000 through the issuance of convertible notes and said that it "is in negotiations on an acquisition opportunity." Funds will also be used for working capital purposes.