Having produced 1,511 metric tons of yellowtail in 2022, Kats, The Netherlands-based The Kingfish Company was able to grow its annual sales 82 percent, reaching EUR 18.8 million (USD 20.3 million).
Its sale of 1,438 MT of fish came with a 14.4 percent year-over-year increase in its average sale price, with a 24 percent bump for larger-sized fish.
In its Q4 2022 results, announced 19 January, The Kingfish Company said its quarterly sales were up 34 percent to EUR 5 million (USD 5.4 million). The company’s per-kilo whole-fish equivalent sales prices reached EUR 18.20 (USD 19.70) for larger fish and EUR 12.00 (USD 12.99) for smaller fish in the quarter.
Demand continues to outpace the company’s production capacity, it reported.
“Market demand for high-value Dutch yellowtail is strong in both Europe and the United States, and The Kingfish Company products are sold in 14 countries,” it said.
In its Q4 results, the company said it completed a EUR 35 million (USD 37.8 million) equity raise through a private placement and subsequent offering it began in early January. Its board is moving forward with the nomination of Vincent Erenst to be its next CEO following the resignation of former CEO Ohad Maiman in fall 2022, with a shareholder vote scheduled for the first half of 2023.
The Kingfish Company achieved 395 tons of net growth of yellowtail kingfish in Q4 2022, compared to 324 tons of net growth in Q4 2021. The growth is due to an expansion of its Kats facility.
“This has resulted in a robust productivity index performance of 0.78 (net biomass growth per cubic meter capacity per day), representing an improvement of 6 percent compared to Q3 2022,” the company said. “While The Kingfish Company has reached full capacity run-rate in phase 1, it has started the production of fingerlings for the pre-stocking of phase 2. Phase 2 production is set to commence in Q1 2023. Commissioning of the hatchery has started in January. The significant volume increase is expected to result in material improvements to unit economics, building on an already strong basis.”
The Kingfish Company is hoping to complete fundraising to build the first phase of a recirculating aquaculture system farm in the U.S. state of Maine. The company has acquired all permits necessary to begin construction, and successfully shipped broodstock to the U.S., it said. Fingerlings it previously shipped to the U.S. are “doing well and growing fast,” it said.
“We are proud of our team, which has delivered five years of successful operational results with continuous improvements, confirming the name plate capacity of our facility. We have seen productivity increase with the third generation of fingerlings, increased size of fish, and no mass mortality events. We are now ready to launch capacity for phase 2 and we are delighted that we have started commissioning the hatchery in January,” Kingfish Company CEO Hans den Bieman said.
Photo courtesy of The Kingfish Company
