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Hawaii island microalgae producer Cyanotech Corp. is putting its nutritional and health products in more mainland Costco stores this month after a test in San Diego helped the company generate record revenue.
Kailua, Kona-based Cyanotech said its products are entering 45 Costcos in Los Angeles, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah as part of expanded distribution plans.
The company made the announcement Thursday as part of an earnings report that said sales for the three months ended Dec. 31, 2014 rose 19 percent to a record $8.8 million from $7.4 million in the same period the year before.
Net income rose to $304,000 from $36,000 in the same period, which is the fiscal third quarter for the company.
Cyanotech said its sales were boosted by the test in San Diego that began in September following many years of sales in Hawaii Costco stores.
To help achieve the sales growth and record revenue, Cyanotech spent relatively heavily on marketing and other sales expenses. These expenses were up by $462,000. Cyanotech also noted it had $136,000 in legal costs related to resolving a lawsuit in December with U.S. Nutraceuticals LLC, which does business as Valensa International, and the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. The university and Valensa sued Cyanotech in 2012 over alleged patent infringement.
