Parsley Box has reported a 32% drop in revenue from £14m to £9.5m, as new customer income fell from £2.96m to £899,000 year-on-year.
However, the ready meals for the elderly provider's interim results showed that losses before tax have been stemmed to £2.77m, down from £5.4m at the same point last year.
The Edinburgh-based business noted that high online shopping volumes experienced during the pandemic have not been sustained, with new customer revenue reducing as marketing acquisition spend was cut back in the first quarter while new funds were sought.
Product margins rose though, due to a greater proportion of repeat customer orders and modest price increases at the start of the period, that increased average order values by 24%.
Marketing expenses were also reduced by 55% to 24% of revenue in the first half of 2022 - compared with 36% during the same period in 2021, as the company exercised "strict discipline on spend" to focus on acquiring and retaining customers with potential higher lifetime values.
The unaudited statement for the six months ending 30 June also revealed that adjusted losses reduced by 42%, while basic losses per share reduced 62% from 12.9 pence to 4.9 pence year-on-year.
The stock exchange update also stated that the financial focus remains on continued loss reduction and cash preservation.
Parsley Box's £5.9m fund raise was completed in March, with support from its directors worth in excess of £3m. This meant that cash at 30 June stood at £5.3m.
Director support was partly due to a lack of outside investor backing, with just £140,000 - or 12.85% - raised of the £1.1m proposed total in the open offer.
Kevin Dorren, chief executive of Parsley Box, commented: "As with other retailers, 2022 has been challenging for the company as consumers feel the effects of the higher cost of living.
"We have taken a number of actions to adapt to the changing macro-economic climate, improve gross margins, and reduce overheads to conserve the £5.9m funds raised in March.
"The board remains focused on investment strategies to generate a longer term return to revenue growth, and are reorganising the business for the current revenue run rate to balance cash consumption.
"Despite the current market challenges, critically we have maintained the quality of our product and continued to deliver the high standard of service our customers deserve and following the actions taken the company is now in a better position to withstand the macro-economic pressures whilst continuing to develop a long-term future."
A new membership scheme, ParsleyClub, was introduced recently to reward loyal customers and improve retention rates.
The company also launched a gifting range during July, in preparation for building customer awareness of new food gifts to come for Christmas.
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