OptiBiotix Health PLC (LON:OPTI) expects the dozens of commercial deals it has signed over the past few years to soon be reflected in its sales and profit figures.
The company is developing compounds to tackle obesity, high cholesterol, diabetes and skin care, and it has been partnering up with manufacturers, suppliers and food groups.
READ: OptiBiotix continuing to put in place commercial building blocks
It signed 12 commercial deals in the first six months of the year: six for its SlimBiome weight management system and six for its LPLDL cholesterol-lowering strain.
In total, Opti has now signed 44 commercial deals – covering marketing, supply, distribution etc – over the past two years.
“The large number of agreements signed in the last two years demonstrate early commercial progress,” said chief executive Stephen O’Hara.
“The next stage of the process is to ensure these agreements deliver recurring revenue streams to build sales growth in 2019 against a continued low-cost base and create profitable divisions across all areas of the company.”
Revenues double in H1, bosses mull acquisition
For the six months ended 31 May, revenue almost doubled to £148,800 (H1 18: £80,600), largely due to a step-up in sales of LPLDL and online sales of its GoFigure shakes, which contain SlimBiome.
Pre-tax losses totalled £1.26mln (H1 18: loss of £1.19mln).
At the end of the period, OptiBiotix had just shy of £1mln in the bank. Once various R&D tax credits and recoverable VAT repayments are received, the balance is nearer to £1.25mln.
Opti is exploring a potential acquisition, having sold off some of its shares in SkinBioTherapeutics PLC (LON:SBTX) to free up funds should it go through with any deal.
Sales & marketing boss leaves
In a separate statement, Opti confirmed the departure of executive sales & marketing director Christina Wood by mutual agreement.
Fred Narbel, managing director of Opti’s prebiotic division, will take over Christina’s responsibilities for SlimBiome and GoFigure.
“On behalf of the board, I would like to thank Christina for her professionalism and hard work with OptiBiotix and wish her all the best in the future.”
Shares were down by 30.1% to 46.1p on Wednesday morning.