Amyris Inc. narrowed its first-quarter loss although its revenue slipped due to tough comparisons with a year-ago quarter, which was before it transitioned out of its ethanol and ethanol-blended gasoline trading business.
The renewable products company, which on Monday announced a renewable fragrance ingredients commercialization pact with IFF, narrowed its loss to $32.3 million from $94.9 million a year earlier.
Total revenue for the quarter ended March 31 fell 73.3% to $7.9 million from $29.5 million a year earlier. Last year's first-quarter revenue included $23.9 million of sales related to the company's ethanol and ethanol-blended gasoline trading business, which it transitioned out of in 2012. Of the $7.9 million in total revenues during the quarter, $3 million was related to renewable product sales compared to $2.4 million for the same period in the prior year and $4.9 million was related to collaboration and grant revenue during the quarter compared to $3.2 million for the same period in the prior year.
"With start up of our industrial-scale production plant in Brazil, Amyris has begun supplying customers with farnesene-derived products from our very own plant. Also, during the first quarter, we secured additional collaborations and partnerships to underpin our business strategy and took action to reduce our operating expenses," said John Melo, Amyris' president and CEO.
