Aerial view of Gigante Salmon's flow-through farm in Rødøy, Norway. At the time the photo was taken, the pool at the bottom, No. 3, was in full operation. Now, No. 2 - top right - is also completed.
Photo: Gigante Salmon.
Norwegian land-based salmon farming company Gigante Salmon has announced that its second pool is now ready. With the completion of production basin No. 2 out of a total of 3 basins, the company reaches a new milestone and is in line with the previously communicated project plan.
As said, Gigante Salmon is a land-based salmon farming company with its first production facility under construction on Lille Indre Rosøy in Rødøy, Norway. Its aquaculture concept is based on a flow-through system, combining the benefits of conventional and land-based aquaculture while eliminating issues associated with sea-based farming.
In January 2024, the company began production in basin 3 on a trial basis, starting up the first of its production pools. In September, they conducted the first large-scale hatchery release while continuing to make progress on production basins 1 and 2.
With the second pool now completed, Gigante Salmon continues the planned progression toward full production capacity beginning in 2026, with a gradual ramp-up to an annual production of 16,000 tons of HOG (head-on, gutted) beginning in 2028.
Prior to that, the company has already announced that it will begin harvesting its pilot production during the second quarter of 2025, with a forecast of approximately 550 tons of HOG.
As mentioned above, Gigante Salmon has also just reported its 2024 results. "On the whole, it was an eventful year for the company," the company stated. In addition to continuing progress towards the completion of basin 1 and the already completed basin 2, production started and, as also said, the first smolt release was carried out in two phases.
"The first went well; the smolt adjusted well to their new surroundings. The second was challenging; many of the smolt were dead when they were delivered, and there was a generally high rate of mortality overall. Managing the situation required considerable effort," summarized the company.
According to the information provided in the report, there was no single cause for the high mortality, but the primary cause was the poor quality of the smolt. "Our employees were able to get the situation under control, and we have reviewed what happened and learned from it," it explained.
In addition, in April, the company's Board decided to appoint Kjell Lorentsen as CEO of Gigante Salmon after asking him to take on the role on an interim basis in March. He had already served as Chief Executive Officer from the company's inception until September 2021, and from then until assuming the position of interim CEO, he was a member of the Board of Directors.
"Given the role he has played in the group, the board was confident that he has the experience, determination, vision and ambition to drive it forward at this crucial moment when the Rødøy project is transitioning from construction to operations," Giant Salmon argued in its 2024 results report.
Finally, commenting on the impact that the start-up of the company has had on the area in which it is located, Gigante Samon stressed that the investment of more than NOK 1 billion is "significant" for Rødøy council, highlighting also the 20 full-time equivalent positions the facility creates, as well as the knock-on effects for related industries.
"A ripple-effect analysis conducted by BRUS, the Bodø regional development agency, shows that the Lille Indre Rosøy facility has led to the creation of 75 directly related jobs in the aquaculture industry in Nordland county," the report disclosed.
In terms of financial results, the annual result was NOK -2.098 million, compared with NOK 0.728 million in 2023. The salmon producer company explained that the difference is due to a decrease in financial income resulting from the increasing share of equity financing for the Rødøy project.
Since sales revenues are not expected before Q2 2025, when the first harvest arrives, the group had no sales revenues in 2024. Therefore, the operating result was equal to the operating cost, NOK -2.970 million. The company noted this is a slight improvement from the operating result in 2023 of NOK -3.324 million.
For its part, total cash flow from the group operations was NOK -76.951 million. "The difference from the operating result is mainly due to the start of production on a trial basis in January 2024, and the start of actual production in September, which led to a significant build-up of inventory (in the form of biomass)," Gigante Salmon said.
In 2024, total payments for investments in the group - all related to the Rødøy project - amounted to NOK -428.397 million, while the liquidity as of December 31 was NOK 84.720 million, representing 16.9% of total debt. The company said these short-term liabilities relate to operating credit, trade payables, fees assessed by public authorities, and accrued holiday pay, all of which are a natural consequence of the group's construction and operating activities in Rødøy.
The remaining balance sheet debt, corresponding to 83.1%, is comprised of the long-term construction-loan financing of NOK 299.615 million and long-term leasing obligations of NOK 116.373 million. The construction loan financing has a total framework of NOK 324 million and is expected to be fully utilised during Q1. The company said it would use buffer capital from previous capital raising to complete the facility.
"The group maintains a solid financial position, and as of 31 December, our available cash was sufficient to meet our short-term liabilities," Gigante Salmon report read. Total assets at the balance sheet date amounted to NOK 1,216.466 million, compared with NOK 657.653 million the previous year, while the equity ratio on December 31 was 59%, compared with 73% as of 31 December 2023.
