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Hawaii island microalgae producer Cyanotech Corp. achieved record sales in its fiscal second quarter, but net income fell 46 percent to $476,000 from $875,000 a year earlier, the company reported Friday.
Cyanotech increased its sales of spirulina and astaxanthin to a record $6.9 million in the three-month period ended Sept. 30, up 16 percent from $6 million a year earlier. But inefficiencies in harvesting, higher spending on consumer marketing and efforts to expand the firm’s workforce ate into the financial bottom line, the company said.
Cyanotech has been pursuing a strategy to sell more of its algae products at the retail level to consumers as nutritional supplements rather than to the bulk wholesale market.
Brent Bailey, company president and CEO, said in a statement that the shift is generating results that are "slightly ahead of expectations."
The firm announced expansion plans in September that include a $5.5 million upgrade to production and storage facilities in Kailua-Kona.
Shares of company stock closed down 34 cents at $5.81 on the Nasdaq Capital Market after the earnings announcement.
