AquaBounty continues working for the future of the business, supporting both traditional net-pen and land-based farming operations.
Photo: Samuel Thomas Kendall / AquaBounty.
Losses continue for AquaBounty as it reports its financial results for the second quarter of 2024. If in Q1 the land-based aquaculture company reported a net loss of USD 11.2 million (EUR 10.3 million), in Q2 2024 the figure has increased to USD 50.5 million (EUR 46.2 million).
Those USD 50.5 million represents a significant increase compared to the USD 6.5 million (EUR 5.9 million) net loss the company recorded in the same period last year. They mean USD 44 million (EUR 40.3 million) more, which in percentage terms translates into a 676.9% higher loss than in Q2 2023.
According to AquaBounty's announcement, the current period loss included a non-cash impairment charge of USD 44.5 million (EUR 40.7 million) against the long-lived assets of the Indiana farm and certain equipment of the Ohio farm, which have been sold or offered for sale. This means that 88% of the total net loss was due to this non-cash impairment charge.
As WeAreAquaculture reported in early July, AquaBounty Technologies, Inc. sold its Indiana farm to Wisconsin aquaponics company Superior Fresh, including certain equipment from the Ohio farm. The land-based salmon producer has now reported the transaction was completed on July 26, 2024, for USD 9.2 million (EUR 8.4 million), net of expenses.
"Our focus during the second quarter was securing a buyer for the Indiana farm and continuing to explore a variety of financing initiatives to maintain liquidity," said David Melbourne, AquaBounty's President and Chief Executive Officer. "With the sale of the Indiana farm now complete, we will continue to work with our investment banking partner to extend our cash runway, including the sale of additional equipment assets from our Ohio farm."
Precisely, David Melbourne's promotion to CEO last June is another highlight of AquaBounty's Q2 2024 results presentation. In conjunction with the Company's succession plan, he took over from Sylvia Wulf, who continues as non-executive Chair of AquaBounty's Board of Directors.
"When I assumed the role as AquaBounty's CEO in June, I made it clear that I would be fully committed to working with our dedicated team to secure the future pathway forward for our Company and stockholders. I remain resolute to this commitment," Melbourne stated now. "Our leadership team, and broader organization, is working tirelessly to stabilize the business in the short term and drive value creation in the long-term."
Melbourne added that, despite that net loss largely driven - as mentioned - by the non-cash impairment charge applied to its farm assets, the team continues to identify opportunities to preserve cash and reduce operating expenses.
Among them, AquaBounty's CEO noted that the company completed a sale of conventional Atlantic salmon eggs from the winter spawning of its Prince Edward Island (PEI) operations to a large net-pen salmon farmer at the beginning of the quarter. In addition, the land-based salmon producer has secured a large follow-on order from the same customer for additional conventional eggs from its summer spawn.
Likewise, he also said that AquaBounty Technologies' R&D team has made further progress on PEI in its fish breeding, fish health and nutrition, and gene editing initiatives. "This work supports important advances that will be valuable for the future of our business, supporting both traditional net-pen and land-based farming operations," Melbourne noted.