Sales jump helps Ecoya post maiden operating profit

Scented candle and skincare products company Ecoya said its sales jumped 58 per cent over the year. Photo / Supplied

Scented candle and skincare products company Ecoya said it made a maiden annual operating profit after sales jumped 58 per cent.

Profit after interest costs but before tax and non-recurring accounting adjustments relating to the Trilogy earnout provisions was $204,000 in the year ended March 31 compared with a $3.6 million loss the previous year.

Ecoya paid $10 million up front for Trilogy and settled the earn-out provisions at the end of March by paying of $4.6 million in cash and issuing 4.6 million new shares to Trilogy's former owners.

Including the impact of the payout, Ecoya reported a $218,000 net loss for the year, down from the previous year's $4 million loss.

Annual sales rose to $22.6 million from $14.3 million the previous year which had included seven months of the Trilogy business' sales. In April, Ecoya raised its revenue forecast for the year from $20 million to $22 million.

"We are pleased with this result," said executive chairman Geoff Ross.

"Our plan is to continue investing in our brands, expanding our retail and distribution footprint and driving strong sales growth whilst remaining close to neutral from a profitability perspective," Ross said.

Despite the operating profit, Ecoya was cash-flow negative to the tune of $320,000 for the year although that was a big improvement on the previous year's $6.7 million cash burn.

The company had $1.9 million in cash left at March 31.

Ecoya shares last traded on May 23 at $1.10, down from the recent record of $1.20 on May 4. The shares were floated at $1 each in May 2010 and sank as low as 65 cents at the end of 2010 before slowing rising again.