For commercial-sized fish weighing more than 3 kg HOG, Fuji Atlantic Salmon - Proximar Seafood's brand - received premium pricing compared to an average export price from Norway of NOK 69/kg in the quarter.
Photo: Proximar Seafood.
Japan's first large-scale salmon farm, Proximar Seafood, has released its third-quarter results report for 2025, highlighting good progress toward its year-end biomass target of approximately 2,000 tons.
"We are pleased to now see improved farming conditions yielding results with low natural mortality and improved growth rates. We expect to demonstrate the potential of our business model and our unique position as our production gradually gets back on track entering 2026, coupled with a positive market outlook and attractive price levels," said CEO Joachim Nielsen.
In total, in Q3 2025, Proximar harvested 356 tons HOG, of which 99.2% were superior grade, with a survival rate, including incidents, above 99% in the grow-out.
The Norwegian land-based salmon producer said that, for commercial-sized fish weighing more than 3 kg HOG harvested at its RAS facility near Mount Fuji in Q3 2025, the average price achieved was NOK 97/kg net, which, it said, demonstrates "the significant advantage of local production in Japan."
"Fuji Atlantic Salmon continues to receive premium pricing for fish in this segment, comparing to an average export price from Norway of NOK 69/kg in the quarter," the company stated.
However, during the period, the company was also impacted by a prolonged period of lower average harvest sizes and, consequently, lower prices achieved, mainly due to reduced feeding following incidents with the biofilter in the fourth quarter of 2024. Impacted by this, the total average price achievement for Proximar in Q3 2025 was NOK 67/kg.
Thus, total revenue for the quarter was NOK 24 million, compared to NOK 0.15 million in Q3 2024. EBITDA, meanwhile, was NOK -7.3 million compared to NOK -1.7 million in the same period last year.
According to information provided by Proximar, operating profit was positively impacted by one-off insurance payments of NOK 16.4 million in the quarter, related to the biofilter incidents in the fourth quarter of 2024 and the mortality incident in May 2025 due to human error.
Another highlight of Proximar's third quarter of 2025 was that, as announced in conjunction with the presentation of the Q2 production update, the company carried out a comprehensive refinancing plan, which allowed it to start the fourth quarter of 2025 with a strengthened balance sheet.
The process was completed in October 2025, and the company moved forward with a strengthened balance sheet after two transactions: a rights issue of NOK 150 million and a conversion of a convertible bond of approximately NOK 200 million into equity.
The Norwegian land-based salmon producer operating in Japan now said that, following these transactions, the relative ratio between equity and debt will improve by approximately NOK 550 million, and that the effect of this will be reflected in the accounts for the fourth quarter of 2025.
In addition, agreements were reached for part of the company's debt with initial maturities in 2025, where the syndicated loan is extended until August 2026 and the shareholder loan until October 2027.
In terms of operating results, the company said that during the quarter, several measures were taken to improve growth, which have shown positive results that continue into October and November. Feeding volumes are now on track, with growth rates in line with expectations.
At the end of the quarter, standing biomass was 1,389 LW tons, while the cumulative harvest so far in 2025—mid-November—was approximately 1,200 tons. The company's production capacity was at full capacity, and there were more than 2.2 million fish in production.
"The harvest of 1,200 tonnes HOG since September 2024 demonstrates the facility's ability to produce high-quality Atlantic salmon. High survival rates, good fish health and high superior share make us optimistic as we look into 2026," said Joachim Nielsen.
"We can now see growth picking up and are planning to push some volumes into 2026 as a measure to increase average harvest weight and achieve better prices," Proximar Seafood's CEO continued.
With full production capacity restored and a stronger financial position, Proximar said it expects to gradually increase harvest weights and improve price realization going forward. Its overall priority is to get on track by 2026, targeting average harvest weights above 3.5 kg HOG.
As its CEO pointed out, to achieve this, the land-based salmon producer has adjusted its production plan to optimize harvest weight and capture premium prices for commercial-sized fish and higher volumes. Thus, according to the note released by the company, the total number of fish expected to be harvested in 2025 is approximately 550,000 and 1,250,000 for 2026.
Proximar Seafood explained this deviation of ~100,000 fish from the previous guidance in the total number of fish scheduled for harvest in 2025 and 2026 by stating that, "due to market considerations," it plans to move some fish from December 2026 to January 2027.
