Photo: The Kingfish Company.
Land-based yellowtail kingfish farmer The Kingfish Company has released its results for the final quarter of 2025, reporting slower growth and indicating it has started discussions with investors and lenders to ensure it has enough funding to continue expanding.
The Netherlands-headquartered firm previously said it expected to reach positive operational earnings and cash flow in the third or fourth quarter of 2026, however, now it "no longer expects to be cash flow positive from operations" during 2026.
The land-based yellowtail kingfish producer reported a Q4 revenue of €8.5 million, up 14% from a year earlier. However, growth was held back by the company’s planned decision to stop selling fresh fish in the United States at the end of the third quarter. Excluding those US sales, revenue was up 21%, showing that demand in its remaining markets continued to grow, the company said.
Market conditions in Europe were also challenging during the quarter. A short-term increase in wild-caught fish led to tougher competition, which put pressure on both prices and sales volumes. The Kingfish Company said conditions improved toward the end of the year, with demand holding up well during the holiday season.
On the production side, operations ran more smoothly than earlier in the year. The company produced 725 tonnes of fish during the quarter and ended the year with just over 1,050 tonnes of fish in the water. It also continued to focus on growing larger fish, which is part of its longer-term strategy to improve efficiency and value.
Despite these improvements, the quarter was "softer" than the company had expected, with it stating it now "expects not to comply with the EBITDA financial covenant as at year-end 2025". While it still expects to make an operating profit in 2026, The Kingfish Company indicated it is unlikely to generate enough cash from day-to-day operations to fully fund itself this year.
As a result, the yellowtail kingfish producer has begun talks with its main financial backers regarding capital structure and financing arrangements, which the company says "could include issuance of new equity".
These ongoing discussions, the company said, are "intended to ensure that the Company remains adequately funded to support its ramp-up towards full farm capacity utilisation and to maintain compliance with its financial covenants."
The Kingfish Company announced in December that its then newly-appointed new CEO Karl Buiks had resigned from his position before taking office, less than a month after the company announced his appointment. Vincent Erenst, CEO of the aquaculture firm since 2023, had previously planned to retire at the end of 2025, but following the surprise resignation said he would continue in the role of CEO for another year.
