Norwegian company Andfjord Salmon, which is developing a land-based Atlantic salmon farm on the island of Andøya, in its Q1 2020 results.
In line with its pre-revenue status, as the company strives to build its facilities and operations, Andfjord Salmon reported zero revenue, as was the case in the first half of 2019.
In the first six months of 2020, the company posted an operating loss of NOK 8.3 million (USD 936,000, EUR 785,000), compared to a NOK 5.1 million (USD 575,000, EUR 482,000) loss in the same period last year, mainly driven by increased salary and personnel expenses as the business ramps up. Cash and deposits at the end of June 2020 were valued at NOK 175.3 million (USD 19.5 million, EUR 16.5 million).
Andfjord reported total assets valued at NOK 311.4 million (USD 35.2 million, EUR 29.4 million) at the end of the first half of 2020, up from NOK 151.7 million (USD 17.1 million, EUR 14.3 million) on 31 December, 2019, of which fixed assets were NOK 125.3 million (USD 14.2 million, EUR 11.8 million).
Current assets increased to NOK 186.1 million (USD 21 million, EUR 17.6 million) from NOK 96.3 million (USD 10.9 million, EUR 9.1 million) 2019 at the end of 2019. The increase in fixed assets is largely due to investments in land facilities for farming, while the increase in current assets was accounted for by an increase in cash and deposits.
In June 2020, Andfjord Salmon successfully raised NOK 150 million (USD 17 million, EUR 14.2 million) through an oversubscribed private placement, and was successfully listed on the Merkur Market, operated by the Oslo Stock Exchange, on 23 June, 2020. Additionally, during the first half of 2020, Andfjord Salmon made several key appointments of highly experienced personnel, it said.
In the company’s results presentation, CEO Martin Rasmussen, who was appointed in January 2020, said the first six months of the year had been “highly eventful.”
Earlier this month, the company announced it is continuing to add capacity to its project, which when complete will produce 70,000 metric tons of salmon annually, but also announced a delay in its smolt release due to complications arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Andfjord Salmon holds a license for 10,000 metric tons (MT) maximum allowable biomass (MAB) of land-based farmed Atlantic salmon, and has secured land rights for a potential expansion of an additional 60,000 MT of fish. According to Rasmussen, the company is on track to finalize construction of its first 1,000 MT salmon pool during the second half of 2020 and to release the first smolts in spring 2021. Rasmussen confirmed his confidence in the company’s ability to build a sustainable salmon farm with substantially lower production costs than traditional salmon farming.
“I am pleased to see that developments in recent months have taken giant strides towards realizing our business case and ambition,” Rasmussen said. “Andfjord Salmon’s patented sustainable aquaculture concept for land-based farming, rights to perfectly-located land and properties, and a strong team of aquaculture experts, represent a solid platform for future growth.”
Photo courtesy of Andfjord Salmon
