LI beverage maker says preliminary figures show sales up 97%

Long Island Iced Tea Corp., the Hicksville company that earlier this month filed to raise $11.5 million in a stock offering, on Tuesday announced preliminary first quarter net sales of about $522,000, a 97 percent increase versus the year-ago period.

The company attributed the increase in the unaudited results for the quarter ended March 31 to “brand momentum and an increase in distribution.”

The company, which posted a net loss of $3.2 million in 2015, did not provide preliminary net income numbers.

Shares of Long Island Iced Tea Tuesday closed up 1.35 percent to $11.25 in over-the-counter trading. The company has applied to move its listing to the Nasdaq Capital Market, which caters to small capitalization companies.

By Ken Schachter

kenneth.schachter@newsday.comkschach

Ken Schachter covers corporate news, including technology and aerospace, and other business topics for Newsday. He has also worked at The Miami Herald and The Jerusalem Post.