Summer’s a bummer for Atlantic Sapphire
Salmon farmer will install more chillers after Florida temperatures limit biomass gain
Florida land-based salmon farmer Atlantic Sapphire brought in revenue of $8 million in the first half of this year and made an operating loss of $34m, in line with its expectations, the company said in a market update today.
Atlantic Sapphire harvested approximately 400 gutted weight tonnes of salmon in the second quarter of 2023, in line with guidance, but expected biomass gain in the current quarter has been lower than expected.
The company said this was primarily due to elevated farming temperatures and its consequences for overall water quality, which had resulted in a lower standing biomass than earlier estimated. Standing biomass at the end of July 2023 was estimated to 2,700 tonnes live weight.
Solved in Q3
“More water chillers will be installed to ensure sufficient capacity at peak demand for cooling and the Company expects the temperature issue to be solved in Q3 2023,” stated Atlantic Sapphire.
“All else equal, this indicates a lower biomass gain and revenue in H2 2023 compared to what the Company expected.”
Atlantic Sapphire’s complete H1 2023 Interim Financial Statements will be published on 24 August (11am Eastern Time/4pm BST) together with an operational update presented by management that will include further details on the financials for H1 2023 and operational performance in H2 2023 to date.
Phase 1 of Atlantic Sapphire's fish farm at Homestead, Miami Dade County, has been completed and has capacity to produce around 9,500 gwt annually if biomass gain goes as planned.
A Phase 2 expansion is partly constructed and will take capacity to 25,000 gwt, but the company has prioritised achieving fullproduction in Phase 1.
