Adidas and Ikea support loss-making Crailar
31/03/2014
After sales of $400,000, adjusted earnings came in at a loss of $1.2 million.
However, despite the gloom, the company received $4.9 million of funding from IKEA and Hydra Ventures, the corporate venture arm of the adidas Group. The IKEA funding is designated for working capital and equipment and the furniture retailer signed a supply agreement that requires minimum order quantities until 2022. The Hydra funding is a $1.9 million equity investment.
During the fourth quarter, the company also completed the acquisition of a fibre dyeing facility in Belgium strategically located in Europe's flax growing region. It has the equipment to perform the ezymatic processing step and the capacity to produce more than 280,000 pounds a week of fibre.
"The fourth quarter was a period of transition where accounting numbers do not reflect the tremendous progress we made positioning the company for success," said Crailar CEO Kenneth Barker. "We now have the ability to produce high quality Crailar flax fibre for our customers and, for the first time, we have funding from highly regarded brands that serve as an endorsement of our product and our potential."
Image: Flax harvesting
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