In 2013 the company secured future orders for Niagen, a branded form of nicotinamide riboside, a vitamin B3 precursor, potentially totaling about $65 million, said Frank Jaksch, CEO of ChromaDex. "The inbound inquiries we are receiving regarding Niagen. . . continues to be beyond our previous expectations. We expect this interest to continue throughout 2014. As we have previously stated, we still believe Niagen is perhaps the largest opportunity for creation of value for ChromaDex shareholders,” he said.
There were several other milestones in 2013, Jaksch added.
"2013 was highlighted by the strategic investment we received from DSM Venturing in October as well as the successful launch of two new important patented ingredients – Niagen nicotinamide riboside and Purenergy caffeine alternative. We expect the ingredient segment to become the dominant growth driver for the Company in 2014 and beyond."
Earnings details
For the year ended December 28, 2013 ("FY 2013"), the Company's combined core standards, contract services, scientific and regulatory consulting and ingredients segments (as reported in the annual report on the form 10K FY 2013) generated net sales of $10.2 million, an increase of approximately 20% as compared to $8.5 million for the year ended December 29, 2012 ("FY 2012"). This increase was largely due to increased sales of proprietary ingredients and other bulk dietary supplement grade raw materials as well as the acquisition of Spherix Consulting in December 2012. In FY 2013, ChromaDex reported net sales of $10.2 million as compared to $11.6 million for FY 2012. The primary reason for the decline in sales was due to the sale in March 2013 of the BluScience retail dietary supplement product segment that features ChromaDex’s pTeroPure synthesized pterostilbene ingredient. In FY 2012, BluScience generated net sales of $3.1 million versus about $60,000 in FY 2013.
The net loss attributable to common stock holders for FY 2013 was $4.4 million or ($0.04) per share as compared to a net loss of $11.7 million or ($0.13) per share for FY 2012. The non-cash, stock-based compensation expense related to stock options and other stock-based compensation in FY 2013 was $1.3 million. . As of December 28, 2013, cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities totaled approximately $2.3 million.
Company milestones
2013 and recent 2014 Company highlights include:
• In March 2013, the Company licensed from Washington University exclusive worldwide patent rights related to the recently discovered vitamin, nicotinamide riboside ("NR"). The patent rights cover the use of NR for the prevention or treatment of neuropathies caused by axon degeneration. The company launched NIAGEN, the branded form of the ingredient, in May.
• In March 2013, the Company closed the sale of its BluScience consumer product line to Canadian firm NeutriSci. The total sale transaction value was approximately $6 million.
• The company also announced significant marketing deals regarding its ingredients. In July 2013, ChromaDex announced a three-year marketing deal worth at least $3.5 million with Thorne Research Inc. for use of Niagen in dietary supplements. In January, the company announced a four year ingredient supply and brand licensing agreement valued at approximately $62 million with direct marketing company 5LINX for Niagen. That company also agreed to a deal involving ChromaDex’s Purenergy ingredient (a crystalline caffeine-pterostilbene mix) that will be worth $520,000 in 2014 and potentially $14 million in the 2015-2017 time frame.