More salmon farmers trial algal blooms warning system
OTAQ will have 16 beta systems deployed by end of the year
Marine technology company OTAQ expects to have 16 beta versions of its live plankton analysis system (LPAS) on trial with salmon farmers in Scotland, Ireland, Chile, Australia, and New Zealand by the end of the year, it said today.
A beta version of a programme or device contains most of the major features but is not yet complete.
OTAQ has been developing the LPAS over several years and currently has 42 systems – some of which are earlier versions - deployed with customers, feeding plankton images back to the company.
“With LPAS systems now live, OTAQ is in constant receipt of highly valuable data that will, through a machine learning process, further enhance the AI (artificial intelligence) engine and improve customer outcomes,” chief executive Phil Newby said in a trading update.
“With an improved reported revenue expected for year, the board remains confident in its current growth strategy, part of which is to commercialise a number of opportunities in the aquaculture space.”
Mitigating actions
OTAQ, which has offices in Lancaster, Aberdeen, and Puerto Montt in Chile, has collaborated with Blue Lion Labs in Canada to develop AI software which monitors water quality by identifying phytoplankton and enables farmers to take immediate mitigating actions against harmful algal blooms (HABs).
In its trading update today, OTAQ said it expects to report revenues of approximately £4.4 million for FY23 (FY22: £4.0m) exceeding management’s prior revenue expectations because of a particularly strong second half to the year.
Revenues in the second half of the year are expected to be not less than £2.5m, up 93% on the same period last year (FY22: £1.3m) and up by over 40% on the first half of FY23. The company expects to report a reduced adjusted EBITDA loss for the year of approximately £245,000 (FY22: £331,000).
Revenue generation was underpinned by OTAQ’s offshore division, while its aquaculture division delivered 200 shrimp sonar device units to Baltimore-based Minnowtech for its shrimp biomass counters.
As of December 18, 2023, OTAQ had a cash balance of £0.4m with strong debtor book of £1.1m (June 30, 2023: £0.9m cash, £0.8m debtors).
