Byotrol extending its market reach

The AIM-traded specialist anti-microbial technology firm said the regulatory approval process with the US Environmental Protection Agency was on track, with the toughest microbiological test already completed satisfactorily.

It said the remaining tests were scheduled to be completed by the middle of summer, and talks were already underway to commercialise the patented technology.

Completion of the EPA process would enable Byotrol to claim 24 hour anti-microbial protection, which would be the first such registration for a consumer product in the US and put it ahead of its competitors.

Byotrol also reported that its partnership with Solvay was progressing well, with some of Solvay's multinational clients undertaking detailed testing and research for a consumer product launch, and a small number of high level commercial discussions were underway.

Elsewhere, the final round of testing for Byotrol efficacy in hospital wards with ISS was due to start at the end of February, with results expected in April.

The company claimed it had an unprecedented number of deals under discussion across a number of countries and sectors, including with well-known brands of hand sanitisers in Japanese consumer and medical markets, pet environment cleaning products in continental Europe and surface care products in the USA.

Byotrol said several of the deals were nearing completion, and its focus was on finalising and closing the deals.

"The board has never been more positive about the opportunities and our work load has never been higher," said chairman Nicholas Martel.

"Our executive team have positioned Byotrol to be a completely different company over a period of only two years, whilst overcoming the dislocation to the legacy business from the changing EU regulations," he added.

Martel said most of the development had been directed toward the consumer market and the company was now engaged, alongside Solvay, with some of the most prominent consumer companies worldwide.

"From these discussions it is clear there is strong demand from consumers for long lasting products and we are perfectly positioned to offer the solution to the consumer companies' quest to meet that demand," he concluded.

At a divisional level, Byotrol's petcare business was performing satisfactorily during the year, but its food business was behind plan due to the impact of recent changes in the regulatory environment relating to limits on the use of quaternary ammonium compounds.

As a consequence, the company said it was seeing some product mix issues, though it was addressing those aggressively and testing an alternative formulation that it believed would restore its competitive edge.

Despite the hiatus in the food business and accelerated EPA costs, the board expected any resulting shortfall in EBITDA for the second half of the year to be mitigated by R&D tax credits, and confirmed the company's working capital position was entirely adequate for future needs.