Maynard, Massachusetts, U.S.A.-based AquaBounty Technologies announced an underwritten public offering on Thursday, 18 November, with a plan to sell 11.2 million shares of common stock by certain selling stockholders at a price of USD 2.10 (EUR 1.86) per share, with the goal of netting USD 23.5 million (EUR 20.8 million).
The selling stockholders have also granted the underwriters of the offering a 30-day option to purchase up to 1.68 million additional shares of common stock at the public offering price. The company itself is not selling any shares in this offering or receiving any of the proceeds from the sale of the 11.2 million shares. The offering is expected to close on or about 23 November, 2021, subject to customary closing conditions.
AquaBounty’s genetically engineered AquAdvantage salmon finally hit the market this summer as losses on the year stacked up due to increased operational expenses.
In early November, the company announced that it had hit losses of USD 16.3 million (USD 14.4 million) through the first nine months of 2021. That’s compared to a loss of USD 10.2 million (EUR 9.1 million) the previous year through the same time period. Operating expenses in 2021 through September hit USD 16.8 million (EUR 14.9 million) in 2021, compared to USD 10.2 million (EUR 9.1 million) in 2020.
AquaBounty’s revenue for the first nine months of 2021 was USD 757,000 (EUR 669,000) compared to USD 77,000 (EUR 68,000) in the same period of the prior year. The company harvested 84 tons of salmon from its Indiana and Rollo Bay farm sites, generating USD 402,000 (EUR 355,000) in revenue from sales to customers in Q3.
“During the quarter, we continued our transition to a commercial production enterprise, with the ongoing harvest and sale of the first cohorts of our proprietary GE salmon at our Albany, Indiana, and Prince Edward Island, Canada farms,” AquaBounty CEO Sylvia Wulf said. “After the initial success of our first commercial harvests to U.S. and Canadian customers in the second quarter, we harvested over 84 tons of salmon in the third quarter. Customer interest in purchasing our salmon remains high and continues to surpass our current ability to supply, as we have been challenged by the labor shortages that have affected the foodservice industry, which currently limits the amount of salmon we can harvest and process below the farm’s 100 tons-per-month capacity. We are working diligently to resolve our capacity constraints and we look forward to onboarding more customers over the coming months as we move to increase our weekly harvest volumes to fulfill the strong demand – clearly proving the market acceptance for our GE salmon.”
The company has also been working to develop its new land-based farm in Pioneer, Ohio, U.S.A., a recirculating aquaculture system production facility, with a planned annual capacity of 10,000 metric tons (MT). The company now estimates the cost to complete the project will be USD 290 million to USD 300 million (EUR 257 million to EUR 265.8 million), and AquaBounty is also holding back an additional reserve for potential contingencies of USD 30 million (EUR 26.6 million).
“The increase from our previous estimates is attributable to several factors, including the cost of building materials and the recirculating aquaculture system technology, along with the inclusion of an on-site processing plant and water treatment facility,” Wulf said. “As we move into the final quarter of 2021 and the year ahead, we believe we are well-positioned to scale production and provide a safe, secure and sustainable domestic source of farm-raised salmon. With ongoing commercial harvests of our GE salmon and the planned construction of our Ohio farm, we look forward to future updates and building long-term value for our shareholders.”
AquaBounty’s stock price as of Friday, 19 November, as listed on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, was USD 2.52 (EUR 2.23), down more than 19 percent from Thursday, 18 November. At the beginning of the year, it was as high as USD 12.00 (EUR 10.63). In December 2020, AquaBounty grossed approximately USD 65.2 million (EUR 53.6 million) from an underwritten public stock offering at a price to the public of USD 6.50 (EUR 5.37) per share In February 2021, it offered 14.96 million shares of common stock to the public at a price of USD 8.50 (EUR 7.00) per share, netting USD 127.1 million (EUR 110 million).
Photo courtesy of AquaBounty
