The development is progressing faster than expected

"Just before the summer, we reported faster-than-expected progress in the development of our waterways. I am pleased to share today that the performance has been equally strong throughout August, following scheduled reduced activity in July. The waterways are the arteries that supply water to the flow-through systems in our pools, so they are key to our expansion," says Martin Rasmussen, CEO of Andfjord Salmon.

As of yesterday, the waterways, including the inlet and outlet tunnels, had reached 73 percent completion - a noticeable increase from 57 percent in early July this year.

In this first phase of the Kvalnes build-out, Andfjord Salmon is completing four new pools, increasing total production capacity to 8,000 tonnes HOG by 2025. This initial phase includes developing shared infrastructure, such as waterways and a harbor area, that will support future production of 40,000 tonnes of salmon at Kvalnes.

The harbor area workstream is currently at 48 percent completion, up from 42 percent since early July.

The pool construction workstream is also progressing in line with Andfjord Salmon's build-out plan. Completion currently stands at 12 percent, up from 8 percent in early July. Concrete elements for the pools are being produced on-site, utilizing raw materials from pool pits and tunnels as ingredients in the concrete. This reduces both costs and emissions associated with the production. The foundation work for the two next pools - K1 and K3 - is in its final stages, and production of pool walls is ongoing. The crane that will install the pool walls is assembled and already in place above the pool pit.

"Everything we need to ramp up pool construction is now in place. The plan is to significantly increase the production of concrete elements during September. We therefore expect to see an uptick in pool construction in the coming months," adds Martin Rasmussen.

Private Placement

A combination of solid progress at Kvalnes, strong biological results in its first production cycle, and the prospect of an additional revenue stream through the use of surplus pool capacity for "post-smolt" production enabled Andfjord Salmon to successfully complete an equity raise of NOK 350 million in the second quarter of 2024. This provided added financial flexibility for this build-out stage.

Current shareholders, including the company's largest shareholder, Jerónimo Martins Agro-Alimentar S.A., and Eidsfjord Sjøfarm AS/Holmøy Havbruk AS, invested their pro-rata shares in the private placement. High Liner Foods Incorporated, a leading seafood processor and marketer in the US and Canada, also invested USD 10 million to become a new shareholder in Andfjord Salmon.

Financial Results

Andfjord Salmon is expanding its Kvalnes facility and had no salmon production in the second quarter of 2024. Revenue was NOK 0.1 million (Q2 2023: NOK 9.6 million). The company reported a loss of NOK 18.8 million in this year's second quarter, compared to a loss of NOK 18.2 million in the same period last year.