Applied DNA Sciences boosts sales, but posts another loss

Applied DNA Sciences Inc., a struggling technology company based in Stony Brook, reported record quarterly sales this week, but still failed to break even.

Revenue jumped 130 percent, to $529,000, during April, May and June as sales grew for the company’s anticounterfeiting products, which embed microchips and other products with plant DNA that cannot be duplicated.

Nonetheless, Applied DNA posted a $1.4 million loss for its third fiscal quarter. That's 34 percent lower than the $2.2 million loss the company posted for the same period last year.

The company, which has 25 full-time employees, has struggled to turn a profit since being founded in 2002. It has survived in part from cash infusions from its president and chief executive, James A. Hayward, including $750,000 in loans during 2011. While he has not lent any money to the company during 2012, Applied DNA has told the Securities and Exchange Commission that it only has funding to last until November.

Hayward remains bullish on the company, saying in a statement released with the earnings that Applied DNA plans to hire nine more people in the next year. “The first nine months of fiscal 2012 have been very productive for the company,” Hayward said.

Photo: Applied DNA president and chief executive James Hayward.