BioLargo sees 2020 revenue rise 31% as its cleantech technologies gain commercial traction

BioLargo Inc (OTCQB:BLGO) posted full-year 2020 financial results on Wednesday that saw its consolidated revenue rise 31% year-over-year on the back of expanding commercial traction for its cleantech technologies. For the year ended December 31, 2020, the Westminster, California-based company reported consolidated revenue of $2.43 million, a 31% increase compared to annual revenue in the year ended December 31, 2019. Meanwhile, for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2020, BioLargo generated around $900,000 in revenue, a 36% increase compared to the third quarter of 2020. READ: BioLargo preparing for commercial trials of its AEC water technology after successful lab tests In 2020, BioLargo boosted its balnce sheet by retiring over $3 million in debt, from $4.8 million down to $1.7 million. In March, BioLargo retired an additional $650,000 in debt. Other than debt owed by its partially owned subsidiary Clyra Medical, only SBA/PPP loans and fixed-price convertible debt now remain on BioLargo's balance sheet. “Of the fixed price convertible debt, $100,000 will convert to equity automatically at the April 20, 2021 maturity date, the $406,000 due in August 2021 may be converted by the investors at a fixed price of $0.14 at any time, and $50,000 is due in two years,” said the company. BioLargo said that as it continues to “reduce its reliance on expensive debt instruments to finance operating costs, and as revenues increase,” it expects its net loss and reliance on debt-based financing to decrease. BioLargo Engineering recorded total sales of $615,000 and an additional $435,000 of intersegment revenue that is eliminated in consolidation. Intersegment revenues are primarily composed of billings to other BioLargo subsidiaries for work related to R&D and commercialization of its AOS and AEC water treatment technologies. ONM Environmental generated $1.5 million in revenue in 2020, and had a net loss of $483,000, as it expanded sales and operations capacity. In a statement accompanying the numbers, BioLargo CEO Dennis Calvert said: "In the last year, we developed and refined new technologies that are now ready for commercial trials, formalized strategic relationships to expand sales and revenues, arranged for demonstration pilot projects for our AOS water treatment system, increased revenues, including those of our flagship product, CupriDyne Clean.” “We also began the process to register our CupriDyne technology with the EPA to make advanced sanitization and disinfection claims." The BioLargo boss said revenue expansion will be driven by “the portfolio of leading cleantech technologies we've developed” and increasing sales through the firm’s network of strategic partners. Significantly, the BioLargo Aqueous Electrostatic Concentrator (AEC), the firm’s technology that removes a toxic soup of PFAS, the so called "forever chemicals" that are commonly found in water, is now in the final stages of development and on the cusp of commercial sales. “The impending commercial launch of our PFAS water treatment solution, the AEC, is set to begin its first demonstration pilots and commercial trials soon,” said Calvert. “These are great times for BioLargo, as our products and technologies are well positioned to find adoption with customers and partners and become leading solutions in their category." BioLargo owns a minority 45% interest in subsidiary Clyra Medical, which develops medical products based on BioLargo's technologies through a license agreement calling for 6% royalty payments. Clyra logged a net loss of $2.14 million in 2020, representing 22% of BioLargo's total net loss for 2020. BioLargo is not obligated to provide working capital to Clyra, or pay its debts. Meanwhile, BioLargo Engineering continues to win contracts with industrial clients, building a backlog of pending projects totaling over $2 million over the next 12 to 18 months. Contact the author Uttara Choudhury at uttara@proactiveinvestors.com Follow her on Twitter: @UttaraProactive