Iofina (LON:IOF) chairman Lance Baller remained cautiously optimistic on the outlook for 2015 after reporting on a year of transition for the iodine producer.
It is currently on target to hit its first-half milestone of 220-260 metric tonnes of iodine, which it extracts from the brine brought to surface during onshore oil production.
Baller also believes the market for his company’s product may also be stabilising.
“The future price of iodine is not certain; however, we expect iodine demand to continue to grow worldwide, resulting in stabilised prices near the middle of 2015,” he told investors.
“Despite this optimism we must be prudent to protect our interests and assets in this declining market and take advantage of the opportunities this environment presents.”
Baller was speaking after the company posted its annual results. They revealed the company’s production hit record levels of almost 328 metric tonnes of iodine, leading it to post revenues of US$25.8mln – another all-time high for Iofina.
That said, the business was loss-making – to the tune of US$6.6mln, up from a US$3.7mln deficit previously.
Part of that loss was down to an impairment charge of US$2.5mln, which in turn was partially the result of write-down in the value of its first iodine plant, which was eventually closed down.
The company was also faced with the headwinds of declining iodine prices.
"With the efficiency improvements implemented following our operational review we have been able to refocus our efforts in exploring new areas for potential iodine deposits,” Baller said.
“We have identified a number of sites for expansion and these areas show great potential even at today's iodine prices. I look forward to updating the market accordingly once plans are finalised."
The company had cash at the 12 months ended December 31 last year of £4.5mln (US$7mln). It successfully placed a total of £3.2mln (US$5mln) in convertible bonds and extended the maturity on £9.6mln (US$15mln) more.