Proximar Seafood reported a standing biomass at the end of the quarter of 39.8 metric tonnes, up from 11.5 metric tonnes at the end of Q3.
Proximar Seafood
Proximar Seafood has published its fourth quarter 2023 results which emphasize the transfer of the first fish to the post-smolt grow-out facility in December. Also, it has reported a standing biomass at the end of the quarter of 39.8 metric tonnes, up from 11.5 metric tonnes at the end of Q3.
In April, it is expected the next major operational phase when production will start in the second of four modules in the post-smolt grow-out building.
For the company, this has marked an important achievement as CEO Joachim Nielsen noted: "2024 will be a pivotal year for our company, and we are looking forward to supplying fresh Atlantic salmon to Japanese consumers, lifting the company from investing to solid revenue streams."
"We are pleased to see the standing biomass increase at pace, whilst the growth of the fish remains according to expectations. Fish health and safety remain our key priority going forward, and we are very happy to have a highly skilled team in place to deliver on our plans," he continued.
During the last quarter, the transition from construction to the operational phase took place, with total biomass at 40 metric tonnes by the end of Q4 2023 and the company raised NOK 140 million through a private placement.
Finally, the agreement of Proximar with its Japanese sales and distribution partner Marubeni allows it to purchase all the volumes produced by the facility, aiming for a steady state output of 5,300 tonnes per year.
Regarding this, Nielsen commented: "The demand for high-quality Atlantic salmon is strong, and with the high cost of transportation and distribution of salmon imported from overseas, Proximar is attractively positioned to offer fresh and locally produced Atlantic salmon of the highest quality to the Japanese market. Proximar is the first producer of Atlantic salmon in Japan, years ahead of the competition."
In February, Proximar Seafood experienced a breach in one of four operational tanks at its new post-smolt grow-out facility. Consequently, suffered a loss of biomass, in other words, an estimated of 50,000 fish were lost.
According to the report, the fish was planned harvested towards the end of 4Q 2024 and will impact the harvested volumes for 2024 by approx. 250 tonnes.
Finally, Nielsen concluded: "We're proud of our team working effortlessly as we grow our biomass towards the first harvest later this year. Although we've experienced issues with the tank breach following the quarter end, initiatives have been made to prevent similar incidents. This remains our number one priority."
