Inarctica, Russia’s largest aquaculture company, has raised RUB 3 billion (USD 32 million, EUR 30 million) through a secondary public offering of 3.3 million shares sold for RUB 900 (USD 9.74, EUR 9.02) each.
The Moscow, Russia-based salmon- and trout-farming firm, which changed its name from Russian Aquaculture in August 2022, attracted more than 13,000 new investors and increased the free float of the company’s ownership to 17.8 percent, up 3.8 percent. The company’s shares are traded on the Moscow Stock Exchange, where it carries a valuation of around RUB 74 billion (USD 800 million, EUR 742 million).
“Demand at the time of book closing fully covered the expected placement volume. At the same time, placement at the lower end of the range also allowed institutional investors to enter and form a more balanced shareholder structure,” Inarctica General Director Ilya Sosnov said in a press release. “The company plans to use the funds raised from the sale of the treasury package for general corporate purposes, including investment projects as part of a vertical integration strategy aimed at multiple business growth over the next few years.”
Inarctica conducted a share buyback in July 2023 valued at RUB 1 billion (USD 10.8 million, EUR 10 million). In December 2022, it announced Maxim Vorobyov had reduced his ownership in the company from 47 percent to 23 percent and had stepped away from the board. The move follows Vorobyov’s selling of his stake in Russian Fishery Company in 2018.
Inarctica is in the midst of an effort to complete its vertical integration, having built and acquired smolt facilities in Russia, commenced construction on a feed plant, and initiated production of value-added products. In January 2023, it was forced to sell three smolt facilities in Norway to local management due to Norwegian regulations implemented in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In February 2023, it bought the AVK OJSC algae plant in Arkhangelsk, and in May 2023, it purchased the Mulinsky sturgeon farm in the Nizhny Novgorod region, according to Hatchery International. In 2022, it purchased the F-Traut trout farm and hatchery in Kaluga, Russia, for RUB 350 million (USD 3.8 million, EUR 3.5 million) and it is currently constructing a second hatchery in Karelia. And in 2021, it acquired the Murmansk-based seafood processor Tri Ruchja.
“These steps deliver growth, make the business more resilient, and maintain operational efficiency among the highest levels among global manufacturers,” Sosnov said.
Inarctica produced 25,600 metric tons of salmon and trout in 2022 in 10 farms in the Barents Sea and three farms in Karelia. It posted consolidated revenue of RUB 23.5 billion (USD 254 million, EUR 235 million). It posted revenue of RUB 20 billion (USD 216 million, EUR 200 million) and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) of RUB 9 billion (USD 97 million, EUR 90 million) in the first nine months of 2023 due to higher sales volumes and average prices. It had a net profit of EUB 4.1 billion (USD 44 million, EUR 41 million) up from RUB 3.5 billion (USD 37 million, EUR 35 million) in the first nine months of 2022.
“In 2023, the Russian red fish market not only recovered, but also began to grow confidently in volume and value terms. The world is also experiencing positive dynamics – the growth rate of demand exceeds the growth rate of supply,” Sosnov said. “The company will increase its share in the chilled fish segment amid declining supply. At the moment, we already occupy 21 percent of the Russian aquaculture market in physical terms. At the same time, at the end of nine months of 2023, biomass amounted to 30,100 tons, an increase of 12 percent year-on-year, which reinforces our growth potential in future periods.”
Sosnov said Inarctica’s potential annual production capacity is approximately 60,000 metric tons of fish.
Photo courtesy of Inarctica
