Listed Dunedin biotechnology company Botry-Zen has taken a share price hit as it continues to investigate production difficulties which prompted an assessment whether production targets can be met.
Company chairman Dr Max Shepherd said last week that if the production issues could not be resolved targets would not be met, which would effect cashflow.
Botry Zen would be talking to its bank and also subscribers to its partially completed capital raising of $1.8 million in convertible notes and options.
Botry Zen listed in August 2001 at an issue price of 10c and before last week's announcement was trading about 3.5c.
Yesterday, it was at 1.5c per share.
Botry Zen had raised almost $10 million during the past seven years for its research and development.
The production issues of its Botry-Zen and Armour-Zen products, which are grape fungus-fighting products, included the possibility of an unwanted chemical in grain or a fault in a sterilisation process prompting unpredictable yield outcomes from the fermentation process.
Contacted yesterday, Dr Shepherd declined to comment on when an update on the production issues would be released, saying the investigation was still under way.
ABN Amro Craigs broker Peter McIntyre said the company was at an "interesting juncture", and needed to remedy the present setback to get an injection of capital from new investors.
Botry-Zen pared back its previous years' losses from $1.6 million to a $1.22 million loss this financial year, but at the cost of an expanding overdraft facility which rose from $577,000 to $983,000.
