AKVA Group ASA has completed the acquisition of Newfoundland Aqua Service Ltd. (NAS), a supplier of fish farming services in Newfoundland and Labrador on the east coast of Canada.
On 30 January, 2020, the Norwegian aquaculture services and equipment provider entered into an agreement with the majority shareholders of NAS to purchase approximately 70 percent of the common shares in the business.
The transaction is aimed at strengthening AKVA’s presence in a region with significant growth projections for salmon farming in the years to come. AKVA has also stated its ambition to become the preferred aquaculture technology and service provider on Canada’s east coast.
Earlier this month, the group announced a challenging Q4 2019 result, particularly within its Land Based Technology (LBT) segment. Its r revenues for the three-month period fell 10 percent year-on-year to NOK 655 million (USD 69.8 million, EUR 64.5 million).
Its losses before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) slumped to NOK 40 million (USD 4.3 million, EUR 3.9 million), compared with NOK 57 million (USD 6.1 million, EUR 5.6 million) in Q4 2018, while its net profit dropped from NOK 19 million (USD 2 million, EUR 1.9 million) to a loss of NOK 85 million (USD 9.1 million, EUR 8.4 million).
