MicroSalt PLC (AIM:SALT) shares fell 17% after the low-sodium salt producer published first results since its IPO in February and said the rollout with new B2B customers "has been slower than hoped" in 2024.
For 2023, the company reported revenue of US$0.6 million, flat on the prior year, and a net loss of US$3.5 million, increased from US$2.5 million last time.
Larger losses reflected its focused efforts in research & development, it said, along with preparation for the launch of the first two major food manufacturing customers, plus the launch of Microsalt salt shakers on Amazon.
The B2B arm received initial purchase orders totalling 29 million tonnes from the Mexican arm of "one of the largest beverage and snack food companies in the world", which at the end of last year launched a version of an existing popular product using Microsalt.
A separate B2B customer, described as a 'US Fortune 500 pharmacy/food retailer', is developing low-sodium 'solutions' across its various self-branded snack lines, with the first launch slated across 800 stores in the fourth quarter.
2024 is "set to be a key year", MicroSalt said, expecting to receive recurring commercial volume purchase orders for its bulk product, though the rollout with new customers has been slower than hoped.
However it said it still has a strong pipeline with "significant volume customer prospects at advanced stages" with various national and multi-national companies, with CEO Rick Guiney saying the "geographic outreach" is making inroads into Asia, Australia, South Africa, the UK, Germany, Canada and Latin America.
The R&D team is also working on three new "iterations" of MicroSalt to expand its effectiveness across more foodstuffs.