The result, an increase on the previous year's $1.38 million loss, did not come as a surprise.
The company had warned shareholders in March of the likelihood of posting two consecutive annual losses totalling more than $2.5 million, which proved accurate, Craigs Investment Partners broker Peter McIntyre said.
Despite poor sales in the first six months of the year, the company said it was able to finish the year strongly.
The group's trading revenue increased from $1.35 million to $1.46 million.
While conditions had obviously been difficult for the company, it really needed to start making profits, trying to build on revenue growth and reduce losses, Mr McIntyre said.
The company's model was based around regulatory approval and that could be slow to move.
Regulatory hurdles had taken far longer to get over than it had expected, he said.
While not able to surpass the full year US market ingredient sales of 2011, the company reduced losses incurred in the first half of the year through the appointment of a new distributor and a refocused sales and marketing effort in North America, chief executive Dr Barry Richardson said.
A highlight was quickly putting a remedial plan in place for the North American market and refocusing efforts on its existing customer base.
Much of the problem in North America came from a rapid downturn in sales from a single key retail brand manufacturer.
"The US consumer mass market is driven by advertising and promotional spending and support from the brand manufacturer and so, in this case, when the retail brand manufacturer suffered a company-wide downturn in sales, it also hit the Blis probiotics products that they had been marketing.
"Unable to sustain their promotional activity, the majority of retailers removed them from the shelves and within a few short months they had gone from national retail distribution to limited distribution," Dr Richardson said.
The company, in association with its distribution partner, increased New Zealand retail sales by 23% over the previous year. That was on top of 13% annual growth for the 2011 year.
It doubled sales in Asia and showed a very slight increase in sales for Australia. It was also pleased with early successes from internet sales.
"Unlike previous years, where the company received significant revenue through contract research or grant funding, revenues in 2012 were almost entirely from our own commercial efforts," Dr Richardson said.
The company noted the contribution to sales that its acquisition, The Gourmet Ice Cream Company, had made.
That result, combined with the steady growth of the New Zealand pharmacy market, was the highest revenue earnings the company had achieved within the New Zealand market since it started operations.
During the past financial year, the company had cleared several regulatory hurdles in different markets and was now preparing to undertake commercial development programmes.
Those markets included China, Russia and the food ingredient industry within the US.
