S&W Seed reports sales surge in 2010
S&W and PureCircle have said they intend to develop a viable domestic stevia supply, and S&W has said it will provide at least 1,000 metric tonnes of leaf within the partnership’s first two years.
Currently, PureCircle sources its stevia from fields in China, Thailand, Paraguay, Kenya and Indonesia. However, the company’s biggest market for stevia-derived sweeteners, particularly Reb A, is the United States. As manufacturers have started to introduce foods and beverages containing the sweetener over the past couple of years, the expectation is that US growth will continue.
S&W reported revenue of $6.75m during the year ended June 30, 2010, compared to $4.95m for the previous year, driven by completion of its initial public offering, which the company said allowed it to invest in growth initiatives, such as its partnership with PureCircle.
CEO of S&W Mark Grewal said: “The successful completion of our initial public offering empowered S&W with the necessary financial resources to execute several key strategies critical to our company's long term success, while also materially strengthening our balance sheet.
“…Looking ahead, we intend to remain squarely focused on aggressively increasing global market penetration of our leading alfalfa varieties; optimizing available capacity of our modern seed cleaning and processing facility; and taking the lead on bringing large scale production of stevia leaf to the United States in collaboration with our new partner, PureCircle. Fiscal year 2011 should prove to be a pivotal year in S&W's 30-year history."
The company saw net income increase two percent during fiscal 2010, from $378,720 to $384,476.
