AquaBounty loses $7.96m as it waits for US green light
Transgenic salmon producer AquaBounty Technologies made a net loss of $7.96 million for the first nine months of 2018, the company said in a press release today.
The loss was an increase over the $6.6m deficit in the same period last year and reflected pre-production and production costs at its land-based farm near Albany, Indiana and R&D activities at its Rollo Bay hatchery, Prince Edward Island, Canada.
AquaBounty started production in Indiana with traditional Atlantic salmon eggs while waiting for approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to import its AquAdvantage salmon eggs from Rollo Bay.
Labelling delay
The company’s salmon, which are genetically modified to grow to harvest size in just 18 months, have been approved by the FDA for consumption in the US but production and sales have been stalled because authorities have not yet decided how the fish should be labelled. The company has previously said it is hopeful that the issue will be resolved before the end of the year.
AquaBounty, a majority-owned subsidiary of DNA-engineering company Intrexon Corporation, said that in post-period transactions it completed a warrant exercise transaction with certain warrant holders for 2,250,461 shares of common stock for a reduced exercise price equal to $2.00 per share, with net proceeds of approximately $4.3 million.
Construction loan
It also finalised a construction loan in the amount of Can$2 million (US$1.6m) from the Department of Economic Development of the Province of Prince Edward Island to be used to complete construction of the company’s 250-tonne production facility on its Rollo Bay site.
With reference to the third quarter of 2018, chief executive Ronald Stotish said: “In this quarter, we commenced grow-out of non-transgenic Atlantic salmon at our site in Albany, Indiana, which will allow us to begin utilising this facility and to make any necessary adjustments to our processes or standard operating procedures while we wait for the FDA import alert on AquAdvantage salmon to be lifted.”
Currently AquaBounty grows its AquAdvantage salmon in Panama and sells it in Canada. It listed product revenues of $10,938 for Q3 2018.
