Snippets from the results:
Progress in the key EU and CODEX regulatory bodies mean that it is likely that high purity stevia will have been approved for use in all major remaining markets within the next 12-18 months. In particular EU approval now seems certain before the end of 2011.
Nielsen data of products containing stevia sold in USA retail outlets shows consumer purchases increasing by more than 100% in total and purchases increasing across all categories where launches have been made.
At 30 June 2011 the Group had over 150 high purity stevia customers, an increase of 50% from 30 June 2010 and from just 25 at 30 June 2009.
Our patent and intellectual property team, led by Professor Varuzhan Abelyan, has successfully filed [70] key patents in the year. These extend the breadth and depth of PureCircle's proprietary protected intellectual property considerably; not just for the existing product portfolio and processes; but also for key future pipeline innovations. ... Our portfolio of Patents at the end of FY2011 stands at more than 60 across the world.
The Group's balance sheet is fully capitalized for current plans. The Group's tangible fixed assets of $70m represents production capacity sufficient to support a $300m revenue business and inventories of $96m are sufficient to generate more than $150m of revenues.
Net cash for operating activities was a cash outflow of $18.6m in FY 2011, a $17m improvement on FY 2010. The FY 2011 outflow was principally due to $17m increase in inventories, which peaked at December 2010 and will now reduce systematically.
We think it will be late 2012 or 2013 before the true velocity of sales is fully evident. But the expected opening of the EU and other markets, the strong growth in retail consumption of stevia sweetened products in all open markets and our enhanced customer and product base will each provide stimulus for sales growth. Sales will accelerate further when the Beverage Global Key Accounts need to replenish their inventories.
Our business model is designed for a mass volume natural sweetener market. The investments have been made and we are ready to prosper as sales volumes increase.
