The Kingfish Company has reported that the company doubled its sales volume and value in 2021, backed by strong demand for the company’s recirculating aquaculture system-grown yellowtail.
The company reported sales of EUR 10.4 million (USD 11.7 million) in 2021, up from the EUR 5 million (USD 5.6 million) it earned in 2020. The increased sales value was thanks to a doubling of sales volume, and higher prices for the company’s products.
“We are proud of our team which has delivered four years of successful and continuous system operations,” The Kingfish Company CEO Ohad Maiman said. “In 2021, we doubled sales of whole-fish equivalents (WFE) to 902 [metric] tons [MT], compared with 467 [MT] in 2020. At the same time, the average sales price achieved increased by 6.5 percent to EUR 11.50 [USD 13.02]/WFE per kilogram in 2021.”
According to a company release, market demand for the company’s yellowtail is strong in both Europe and the U.S., and the company’s products are now sold in 14 countries.
Sales in the fourth quarter of 2021 increased by 159 percent in revenue year-over-year to EUR 3.8 million (USD 4.3 million), and 144 percent in volume to 335 MT of whole-fish equivalent.
The company produced 324 MT net growth in Q4, resulting in a total of 1,154 MT in overall production in 2021 – a record for the company. The increase was 0.64 kilograms of growth per cubic meter per day in the fourth quarter, “in line with the full-year average,” according to The Kingfish Company. The firm said it has now recorded four straight year of continuous operations, representing 26 production cycles from full-cycle hatchery to harvest, with no mass-mortality events.
Additionally, the company said its expansion plans in Europe, and its planned facility in the U.S. state of Maine both achieved important milestones in the fourth quarter.
The company’s planned facility in Jonesport, Maine, received its final permits in 2021, and is cleared to start groundwork, the company said. The company projects the Maine-based facility, when completed, will reach 8,500 MT of production. Construction in Maine will begin “once financing has been secured," it said.
The expansion in Europe is also on track, the company said. The Kingfish Company completed “phase 1B” in early 2021, and said the construction of its second phase remains on schedule. Spending on capital development for the second phase amounted to EUR 13 million (USD 14.7 million) in the second half of 2021. The company added it “anticipates an acceleration of capex in 2022, with the majority of capex being spent in the first half of the year.”
“We are pleased that we gained final state-level approvals and announced the purchase of land for our new U.S. farm in Maine, while our expansion in Europe is well on track,” Maiman said. “In parallel, we continue to work on securing financing for further expansion in Europe and in the U.S.”
Photo courtesy of The Kingfish Company
