"We are exactly where we want to be," said Andfjord Salmon CEO Martin Rasmussen, announcing the company's second quarter and half-year results earlier today.
The company, which produces salmon at its land-based facilities at Kvalnes in Andøya, Norway, completed its inaugural harvest of Atlantic salmon in July. Rasmussen reported strong results, citing what he referred to as an "industry-leading" survival rate of 97.5% and superior share of 91.1%.
In total, the company produced around 530 tonnes HOG, with an average weight of approximately 3.4 kilograms per fish.
"The timing of the harvest was chosen to mitigate project execution risk for Andfjord Salmon's expansion plan at Kvalnes. In future batches, the average slaughter weights will be notably higher," the company said in a press statement.
"Our first production cycle was a success, from a biological, technical and commercial point of view. The achieved survival rate is industry-leading and feedback from customers is very positive, with emphasis on good colour and yield," said Rasmussen.
On the financial side, the picture was more mixed. Andfjord Salmon delivered operating income of NOK 9.6 million in the second quarter 2023, a marked increase in comparison to zero income in the same quarter last year. However, the company reported an operating loss of NOK 18.1 million in the second quarter, compared with its loss of NOK 10.4 million in the same period last year.
In total, Andfjord Salmon's first harvest generated revenue of NOK 37.1 million. The company says that of this, NOK 27.5 million will be booked in this year's third quarter.
"In summary, we are exactly where we want to be. We have built up trust in our flow-through technology and biological performance, and the next construction phase is on track," Rasmussen said.
During its initial construction stage, Andfjord Salmon plans to increase its production capacity to 8,000 tonnes and develop major shared infrastructure such as waterways and a port area to support its long-term goal of a 40,000 tonne total production capacity at Kvalnes. Pre-cutting in connection with blasting and excavation of waterways commenced on schedule in early September.
In support of its Kvalnes expansion, Andfjord Salmon secured NOK 900 million in funding earlier this year, composed of NOK 825 million in bank financing, in addition to refinancing existing debt of NOK 75 million. The company has also recently completed a private placement of new shares that raised gross proceeds of approximately NOK 615 million.
"We are proud to have secured vital building blocks that allow us to significantly expand our salmon farming facility at Kvalnes. The construction work is off to an excellent start, partly enabled by the extensive groundworks we have already conducted during the past two years," Rasmussen said.
Andfjord Salmon is also developing two other sites – Breivik and Fiskenes – at Andøya. The company's long-term ambition is to reach a total production volume of 90,000 tonnes from all three sites.