There is little in Oatly’s corporate results, which were released during the week, which points to the alternative-milk maker having a long-term future as a viable business.

In the first nine months of this year, the alternative dairy company made a net loss attributable to shareholders of $267.4m (€257.4m) on sales of $527.2m. In simplified terms, that means the every $1 of sales cost Oatly just over $1.50.

One look at the company’s balance sheet shows how unsustainable this position is. Short-term investment and cash levels plunged, leaving the total assets $381m lower than where they started at the beginning of 2022.

The company blamed a range of factors, such as COVID-19 restrictions in Asia and production problems in the US, for the drop in profit. It also cited the impact of inflation and rising interest rates on consumer behavior when it revised down its revenue forecast for the year.

Management at Oatly announced a restructuring programme in an attempt to get costs under control. They will be cutting jobs, looking for manufacturing partners and streamlining operations, with the aim of hitting $25m in savings.

Investors, however, do not seem to be very interested in sticking with the company. Shares tumbled in the wake of the update, trading close to $2.

The Swedish not-milk maker floated on the Nasdaq stock exchange in May 2021 at $17 a share, meaning shareholders, like the company itself, are suffering significant losses.

Recently, alternative meat maker Beyond Meat also released a disappointing set of results, as it too found that the trading environment was more difficult than it expected.

Time will tell, but 2022 is shaping up to be the year where expectations for plant-based agricultural products are shown to be built on a large helping of false hope.