Oatly, the Swedish manufacturer of a plant-based milk alternative, posted an EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) loss of $36.5m (€32.3m) in the third quarter of 2021 compared with $4.6m (€4.1m) for the same period in 2020.

Oatly explained the increased loss as “primarily a result of share-based compensation costs of $10.4m (€9.2m) including social security-related expenses of $0.8m (€0.71m), higher employee-related expenses, public company costs and other operating expenses as the company scales its global operations to support growth across three continents.”

The company also pointed out that the loss, partially offset by higher gross profit and revenues, did increase to $171.1m (€151.4m) for the third quarter, up from $114.7m (€101.5m) in the corresponding period in 2020, though this was below market expectations. Oatly’s share price, which was $22.46 (€19.90) at launch in May before increasing to $28.73 (€25.40) in June, has been steadily declining since and was valued at $9.93 (€8.80) on Tuesday.