Itaconix PLC (AIM:ITX, OTCQB:ITXXF) CEO John Shaw talked with Proactive about the company’s progress following its strategic restructuring and what lies ahead for 2025. Shaw highlighted that the company ended 2024 with strong momentum, achieving nearly $3.7 million in revenue in the second half, among its highest ever.
The restructuring effort focused on improving profitability, including a key shift in the customer base. Shaw noted: “We actually increased our gross profit margin from about 31% to almost 35% last year.” Despite lower revenue in some areas, gross profits held steady due to this focus on margin improvement.
Shaw also discussed key product developments, including the launch of Itaconix TSI 422, a new detergent ingredient gaining traction in North America and Europe. He explained how the SPARX program, introduced in October, is helping accelerate customer collaboration in key product categories.
The company has also invested in operations, marketing, and regulatory capabilities to support growth, and Shaw expressed confidence in the production team and infrastructure to sustain momentum: “We really have everything in place we need right now to have a great run over the next 24 months.”
Tariffs remain a consideration, but Shaw believes any impacts are manageable and in some cases, could be beneficial.
Proactive: John, I know that you've announced your financial numbers. I remember in September of last year your interim results noted some lower revenue due to your restructuring. So tell me a bit about the trajectory and revenue momentum now as you shift past 2024 and into 2025.
John Shaw: We completed that restructuring in the first half of last year. So we ended the second half of last year in a very strong position — almost $3.7 million in revenue — which is close to the biggest half we’ve ever had. From that, we're entering this year with a lot of revenue momentum, and starting off in really good shape with a restructured customer base.
Proactive: So, John, I know you've talked in the past about getting the company to profitability. How confident are you in achieving that?
John Shaw: Part of our purpose last year in restructuring the customer base was to build up the gross profits that we think we deserve for the true value of our ingredients. And we achieved that. We increased our gross profit margin from about 31% to almost 35% last year. Interestingly, even though our revenues were down a bit, our absolute gross profits were about the same. Having that customer base in place with good profitability really puts us in a good position to reach profitability in the mid-term. We did a lot of great work last year, and we’re entering this year in a great position.
Proactive: Let's talk about 2024. Can you recap some of the product development progress and plans for 2025?
John Shaw: The great progress last year was the launch of our Itaconix TSI 422, used in the detergent space. It’s an improved, more compact, and functional version of our leading product, TSI 322. We're getting great uptake on that — with several accounts working on it in North America, and good traction in Europe and beyond.
We also launched our SPARX program in October — standing for Safety, Performance, Affordability, Renewability, and Collaborations. It helps us accelerate development when we find innovation opportunities in specific product categories.
We also formed an alliance with a leading detergent tablet manufacturer in Europe, aiming to bring those capabilities to North America early this year. So, we're seeing strong momentum with better products and faster application of our ingredients.
Proactive: Do you have the infrastructure in place to support that growth?
John Shaw: We do. We continued investment spending in our operations and organisation last year. We added capabilities in marketing, operations, and regulatory areas. We also completed important safety and environmental impact studies. More importantly, we now have a great production team in place. We're cranking away at our production facility and continuing improvements in efficiency and de-bottlenecking. We have everything we need in place for a great run over the next 24 months.
Proactive: Everyone’s talking about tariffs this year. Are you concerned about potential trade disruptions?
John Shaw: We're quite familiar with tariff impacts. Back in 2009, tariffs on Chinese citric acid caused prices to jump, leading the only North American Itaconic acid producer to stop production. That was a major disruption for us, but we survived and grew past it.
Tariffs today are hitting a little, but the impact on raw materials is manageable — still within the range of what we've seen over the last three years. We're more focused on any tariffs between Europe and the US, which could affect us. But interestingly, tariffs between Canada and the US might benefit us, given our current customer base. It's a mixed bag. Everyone’s in the same boat, and we’ve dealt with this before.
Proactive: All right. Well said. John, thanks so much. Good to see you again, and appreciate your time.