OptiBiotix Health (AIM:OPTI), the AIM-listed developer of appetite-management and gut microbiome products, reported unaudited revenue of £679,000 for the six months ended 30 June, up 21.9% from £557,000 a year earlier.
Gross profit rose 25.4% to £380,000, lifting gross margin to 55.9% from 54.4%.
Operating costs, excluding non-cash share-based payments, depreciation and amortisation, fell 12.2% to £1.01 million, with selling costs down 69.5% to £76,000.
Rest of World sales, largely from Asia, jumped 133% and made up 49% of group revenue, offsetting weaker trading in the US and India where GLP-1 medicine adoption and a major customer's financial restructuring hit orders.
The company delivered 12 metric tonnes of SlimBiome to Taiwan's Meelung Trading against a 24mt order, with the balance due in the second half.
OptiBiotix ended the period with net assets of £4.73 million, down from £8.42 million a year earlier, cash of £990,000 and no debt.
Post period, the company signed trademark licence agreements covering a US launch of SlimBiome products and Indian expansion with a major direct-selling company, alongside sending SweetBiotix samples to interested food and beverage brands.
"The Company has made good progress in H1 2026 in reducing the costs of commercialising its first-generation products while maintaining sales growth, increasing margins, and making progress towards commercialising its second-generation products", said chief executive Stephen O'Hara.
The company is targeting initial SweetBiotix product samples from manufacturing partners around the end of 2026.
News Intelligence what this means for the company
OptiBiotix grew H1 revenue 21.9% to £679,000 while cutting operating costs 12.2%, with gross margin expanding to 55.9%—a rare combination of top-line growth and cost discipline at a pre-revenue-scale biotech. Rest of World sales surged 133%, driven by Asia, though US and India faced headwinds from GLP-1 competition and a customer restructuring; the company is halfway through a 24-tonne Taiwan delivery and has signed post-period trademark licences for US and India expansion of SlimBiome, while targeting SweetBiotix samples by end-2026.
The cash position of £990,000 against £1.01m in operating costs means the company is burning roughly one quarter's costs per month; net assets fell 44% year-on-year to £4.73m, signalling material reliance on near-term revenue ramp or capital raise to sustain operations. Growth and margin improvement are encouraging, but the trajectory of cash depletion and the company's dependence on SweetBiotix commercialisation (still sampling at period-end) remain the binding constraint on the investment case.
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