(Alliance News) - Renalytix PLC shares dropped on Thursday as the company reported a reduced loss in a productive year, but with a depleted balance sheet.

Shares in the London-based diagnostics company were 31% lower at 31.55 pence on Thursday in London. The stock has fallen by 75% over the past 12 months.

Renalytix, which focuses on chronic kidney disease patients, said its pretax loss for 2023 was USD19.3 million, compared with its USD22.6 million loss the year before.

Revenue, however, dropped by 46% to USD1.2 million from USD2.2 million. Administrative expenses fell 18% to USD18.4 million from USD22.4 million, and Renalytix's loss on financial assets at fair value narrowed to USD244,000 following the prior year's USD1.2 million loss.

Moreover at December 31, Renalytix had cash and equivalents totalling USD5.6 million, down 77% from USD24.7 million at the same time one year prior.

Having completed US Food & Drug Administration marketing authorisation in 2023, however, Renalytix has "reviewed [its] operating costs with a view to meaningfully reduce quarterly cash burn rate," said Chair Christopher Mills and Chief Executive Officer James McCullough.

"This reduction in cash burn should become apparent in the remainder of our 2024 fiscal year and is being undertaken without compromising our sales and marketing efforts to grow testing volume and revenue", they added.

Going forward, Mills and McCullough said fundraising is now "essential" to "fuel [the] clear commercial opportunities" Renalytix plans to evaluate.

"In addition to traditional financing efforts," they continued, "we will continue to explore less dilutive and non-dilutive capital funding sources, particularly now that we have a unique product proposition post-FDA authorisation."

By Emma Curzon, Alliance News reporter

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